EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT CALLS ON ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT TO IMMEDIATELY RELEASE ALL DETAINED
Trend News Agency
March 5 2008
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, Baku, 4 March / corr. TrendNews K. Ramazaniova/ The
European Parliament calls on the Armenian government to immediately
release all the detained oppositionists.
"I call on Armenian government to immediately release all the
detained oppositionists, including Levon Ter- Pertosian and explain
the reason why the police and special forces severely punished the
demonstrators in Yerevan," Marie Anne Isler Beguin, the head of the
European Parliament Committee on Cooperation with Parliaments of
South Caucasus Countries said to TrendNews by email on 4 March.
The President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan declared a state of
emergency on 2 March after the opposition demonstration against the
falsification of the election outcome flared into confrontation with
the police. According to Health Ministry of Armenia on 3 March, the
number of injured during the disorders in Yerevan on 1 and 2 March
totaled 131 people and eight of them were shot dead.
Marie Anne Isler Beguin is sorry that the Armenian government employed
force agaisnt the peaceful demonstrators once again regardless of
the numerous statements from the international community.
"The most tragic result of these events is the death of the people
and a number of people being injured," the representative of the
European Parliament said.
According to Isler Beguin, the European Parliament called on Armenia
to investigate violations that took place during voting. "We are very
sorry that our demands were ignored," she said.
"Only talks and not using violence can stop the Armenian crisis,"
Beguin said.
The representative of the European Parliament said that the South
Caucasus region is a high risk region and every effort should be made
to return Armenia to a democratic experience with the support of the
international community.