Voice of America
March 1 2008
Armenian Government Declares State of Emergency Following Police
Clashes With Protesters
By VOA News
01 March 2008
Armenian President Robert Kocharian has declared a 20-day state of
emergency, following clashes between police and activists on the
eleventh day of protests in the capital, Yerevan, over a contested
election.
News reports say at least one person died as police broke up
Saturday’s demonstration in the city center. Riot police fired tear
gas and automatic weapons into the air to disperse thousands of
protesters. Police and protesters had clashed earlier in the morning
when police raided the city’s Freedom Square to clear out
demonstrators.
Tens of thousands of activists have held large-scale daily protests
in Yerevan, following the February 19 presidential election. They
said the official results, which handed a landslide victory to Prime
Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, were rigged.
The top European vote-monitoring group, the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, today condemned the government’s use of
force against peaceful demonstrators.
Armenian opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian says he was placed
under house arrest Saturday morning.
Friday, Mr. Sarkisyan announced plans to form a coalition government
with the leader of another opposition movement, the Rule of Law
party. He signed an agreement with the party’s leader Artur
Baghdassarian appointing Baghdassarian the secretary of the
Presidential National Security Council.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observers say
the election mostly met international standards.