STATE OF EMERGENCY IN ARMENIA MAY BE EASED
RusData Dialine – Russian Press Digest
March 13, 2008 Thursday
Outgoing Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said on Wednesday he was
prepared to ease the state of emergency regime imposed on March 1 in
Yerevan after protests over recent presidential election results.
Eight people were killed and over 130 wounded in Armenia’s capital
on March 1 in clashes between police and supporters of Levon
Ter-Petrosyan, who was defeated by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan in
the February 19 vote. Sarkisyan gained 52.8% of the vote against his
rival’s 21.5%. Protesters said the polls were rigged.
"This evening or tomorrow morning I’ll sign a decree to change the
approach. Under the current state of emergency we indicate what may
be done, while the new decree will indicate what may not be done,"
Kocharyan said. The state of emergency in Yerevan is expected to last
until March 20.
Meanwhile, Sarkisyan reiterated that he had won the presidential
election fairly. "I believe that I won an honest victory at the
presidential election, all the more so as I received the people’s
trust at the parliamentary election [in May 2007]," he said.
The Republican Party led by Sarkisyan received 65 out of 131 seats
in the Armenian parliament last year.