TIGRAN BALAYAN: WE’RE ASTONISHED AT BRYZA’S STATEMENT

Azat Artsakh Daily
13-03-2008
NKR Republic

"We’re astonished that even after his visit to Yerevan, after meeting
with and hearing from various official and unofficial sources,
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza could make such
arbitrary statements," said Tigran Balayan, Head of the Armenian
Foreign Ministry Press Division.

"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,"
he said.

"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,"
Mr Balayan noted.

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, according to him.

"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," he resumed.

U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza said that
"United States is frustrated by the arrests of opponents since his
meetings 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," he said. "It is crucial that the arrest of
opposition figures stops."

Bryza also called on the government to investigate and prosecute all
those from the opposition or the government, who violated election
laws and unlawfully used violence.