ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES NOT PLANNING TO EXTEND STATE OF EMERGENCY
Interfax News Agency
March 17 2008
Russia
Armenian President Robert Kocharian is not going to extend the state
of emergency in Yerevan, Viktor Sogomonian, the press secretary of
the Armenian president, told a news conference on Monday.
Kocharian introduced a 20-day state of emergency in Yerevan on March
1 after the opposition staged riots throughout the city in protest
of the outcome of the February 19 presidential election.
"Several days are left, but it is possible that the president will
say his word," the spokesman said.
No violations of the state of emergency have so far been registered in
Yerevan, Sogomonian said. "We hail the fact that the public understands
the imposition of the state of emergency, which has become obvious,"
he said.
Kocharian signed on March 10 a new decree lifting restrictions on
the activity of political parties and public organizations, as well
as the expulsion of people who violate the state of emergency. The
president also lifted a number of restrictions on media organizations
on March 13.