ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY "ASTONISHED" BY THE "ARBITRARY" STATEMENTS OF MATTHEW BRYZA

Mediamax
March 12, 2008

Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenian Foreign Ministry is "astonished" by the
"arbitrary" statements of the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State Matthew Bryza.

Tigran Balayan, Head of the Press Division of Armenian Foreign
Ministry, said this today, commenting on Mediamax’s request on the
interview of Matthew Bryza to Associated Press agency, published on
March 10.

In the interview to AP, Matthew Bryza stated that the reaction of
the Armenian government to the unrest in the capital on March 1 and
2 was "harsh and brutal". He also stated that the U.S. government is
disappointed by the arrest of oppositional leaders in Armenia. "It is
not only frustrating that the government has imposed restrictions on
independent media and left in place a state of emergency, but also that
it has stepped up arrests of opposition leaders," Matthew Bryza said.

"We’re astonished that even after his visit to Yerevan, after meeting
with and hearing from various official and unofficial sources,
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza could make such
arbitrary statements", Tigran Balayan stated.

"Assigning such one-sided blame is unfounded and not helpful. The
number of wounded law enforcement officers (108) – 43 of them wounded
by firearms and hand-grenades – clearly demonstrates that rioters
were in possession of firearms and explosives. That coincides with the
operative information of law enforcement agencies which had informed
the public about all this, days before the events of March 1. In
that case, labeling the reaction of the government as "a crackdown
on opposition protests", or qualifying it as "harsh and brutal"
is incorrect. This was not at all an attack by policemen on civilians.

The violence of March 1 is indeed of great concern to all of us in
Armenia, including and foremost, the government, which believes it
is responsible for the maintenance of public order and safety. It
attempted to do so, exercising restraint, but as law enforcement
bodies had earlier cautioned, turned into a clash between officers
and demonstrators. With eight people dead (including one policeman)
and dozens injured (many from law enforcement), there is no doubt that
this was serious violence, and indeed deplorable, as Mr. Bryza says.

Armenia’s challenge, now, 10 days after that disastrous day, is to
fully explore and understand what happened and find ways to move
forward together.

The international community’s focus should be to encourage all involved
to take responsibility for the damage to the fabric of our society
and to look for inclusive ways to move forward.

Ill-informed statements can and do contribute to an escalation of
political tension", Tigran Balayan stated.