ARMENIA PREPARING TO CHARGE EX-PRESIDENT: MINISTER
by Mariam Harutunian

Agence France Presse
March 10, 2008 Monday

Armenia is preparing to lay criminal charges against opposition leader
and ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian for stoking post-election unrest,
the Armenian justice minister told AFP Monday.

"Today law-enforcement agencies conducting the investigation already
have sufficient evidence to instigate criminal action against Levon
Ter-Petrosian," Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian told AFP in an
interview.

"The investigation will show which exact charges will be brought
against him. He has crossed from the political sphere to the criminal
sphere."

The Armenian capital Yerevan is under a state of emergency until
March 20 following clashes between riot police and anti-government
protesters on March 1 that left seven civilians and one police officer
dead. Dozens more were injured, many from gunshot wounds.

Danielian defended the state of emergency as necessary and said it
was imposed based on evidence that protesters were armed.

"The decision to impose a state of emergency was taken when it became
clear that the protest did not have a peaceful character," he said.

"Incidents of violence, arson, destruction of vehicles and disorder
that took place cannot be qualified as political actions. There
was a huge concentration of weapons and ammunition in the hands
of protesters."

The unrest was sparked by police efforts to disperse thousands
of protesters who had rallied for 11 days against the results of
a February 19 presidential election won by Prime Minister Serzh
Sarkisian, outgoing President Robert Kocharian’s handpicked successor.

The opposition claims the election was rigged to secure victory for
Sarkisian over Ter-Petrosian, who came a distant second. Foreign
observers, however, said the vote had by and large met international
standards.

Danielian said the state of emergency may be lifted early or prolonged,
based on an investigation into whether illegal weapons remain in the
hands of opposition supporters.

Some restrictions, including a ban on political party activity,
were lifted on Monday, but major restrictions on public gatherings
and censorship of the media remained in place.

Danielian said media censorship was required "to avoid further pressure
on the situation" and "to avoid the distribution of provocative
information that does not correspond to reality."

About 60 people have been charged in connection with the unrest.

Danielian denied opposition claims that authorities are carrying out
politically motivated arrests of Ter-Petrosian’s supporters.

"Nobody among Levon Ter-Petrosian’s supporters has been arrested for
political appeals. They have been arrested for carrying out criminal
offenses," he said.