Ex-prosecutor who joined opposition detained in Armenia; postelection
protest persists
AP
2008-02-24 12:40:30 –
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) – Armenian authorities have detained a former
senior prosecutor who was fired after joining opposition protests,
police said Sunday, adding to tension over the Caucasus Mountain
nation’s disputed presidential vote.
Protesters calling for a repeat of last week’s vote kept up their
protest for a fifth straight day in a central
Yerevan square. A tough warning from the outgoing president raised
concerns that police could seek to disperse the demonstrators, who have
set up tents and maintained round-the-clock vigils.
Supporters of opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian claim last
Tuesday’s election was rigged and are demanding a new vote. The
government says Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian won the presidency
fairly and has urged the protesters to disperse.
The standoff has raised concerns about potential violence in a poor and
volatile country that is strategically located at the junction of the
energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe, with Russia and
Iran nearby.
Late Saturday, outgoing President Robert Kocharian accused the
opposition of attempting to seize power and warned of «resolute and
firm» actions to preserve order. The statement sparked speculation that
government forces would move to break up the protest, which has been
drawing up to 30,000 people daily.
On Sunday morning, an officer speaking through a bullhorn urged the
crowd of a few thousand to disperse, but there was no major police
presence at the rally site and no sign of imminent action.
Demonstrators were milling in the square outside Yerevan’s opera house
as music played from large speakers.
Police stopped a few hundred Sarkisian supporters who appeared to be
headed for the square.
Election officials said the day after the vote that Sarkisian,
Kocharian’s favored successor, received 53 percent of the vote in the
nation of 3.2 million _ enough to win outright and avoid a runoff. They
said Ter-Petrosian received 21 percent.
A few officials have joined the opposition since the vote.
The most prominent person to do so, former Deputy Prosecutor General
Gagik Dzhangirian, was detained along with his brother and another man
late Saturday, police spokesman Sayat Shirinian said. An exchange of
gunfire erupted when officers blocked a highway to search the car in
which they were traveling, Shirinian said.
Dzhangirian’s brother and two police officers were injured, police said.
Shirinian said four pistols and a hunting rifle were found in the car.
Dzhangirian had joined the protesters Friday. Several Armenian
diplomats who expressed support for the opposition were dismissed
Saturday by Kocharian, including the ambassadors to Italy and
Kyrgyzstan and a deputy foreign minister.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
