PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA: IF TER-PETROSYAN WAS IN TERROR OF HIS OWN SAFETY, HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN CONCERNED OVER SAFETY OF HUMAN MASSES

arminfo
2008-03-06 10:17:00

ArmInfo. Armenian President Robert Kocharyan denied Levon
Ter-Petrosyan’s statement that the latter was ready to have a dialogue
with the authorities, join the rally participants on March 1 but was
given no such a chance.

At the March 5 press-conference, Kocharyan said that he was aware
of this statement. "To put it mildly, this statement is false. What
does it mean "there was no chance"? Who disturbed him? He could do
it without any difficulties. Nobody disturbed him", the president said.

According to him, the matter is that Ter-Petrosyan’s guard
consisting of officers told him that it couldn’t take part in illegal
activities. Ter- Petrosyan himself had the right to participate in
the rally without his guard. "If he was in terror of his own safety,
he should have been concerned over the safety of the human masses",
Kocharyan said. He noted that in fact, on March 1, Ter-Petrosyan
expressed his desire through the head of the State Security Guards
Service to the president to attend the rally and calm down the
people. Ter-Petrosyan also laid down conditions – to let him hold
a procession to Matenadaran and hold rallies there for 15 days. But
when Ter- Petrosyan was making his proposal, the situation in front
of the City Hall was uncontrolled: the crowd armed with sticks and
metal rods had already burnt about 30 cars, built barricades, beat
policemen. "Just imagine what would have happened if we permitted
that crowd to go to the Opera along Mashtots Avenue? What would have
happened to Yerevan?" the president said.

According to him, Ter-Petrosyan was told that he had made his
proposal too late and he was offered to calm down the protesters
on the spot or lead them to the stadium. Ter-Petrosyan insisted on
his ultimative proposal which couldn’t be accepted in that version,
Kocharyan noted. "Actually, I am amazed at the fact that this man could
stay at home that night. But it would have been even more amazing if
he had been accompanied in the illegal actions by representatives of
the state security guards service and his officers had clashed with
the police. It is just amoral to put a person with shoulder-straps in
such a stupid situation", the president stressed. He added that Ter-
Petrosyan has refused to sign the document on refusal from the state
security guards for a week.