ARMENIA TO LIFT STATE OF EMERGENCY ON 21 MARCH – PRESIDENT

Mediamax
March 20 2008
Armenia

Yerevan, 20 March: The state of emergency will be lifted in Yerevan
on 21 March, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said today.

Addressing a news conference in Yerevan today, the president of
Armenia said that he did not see any reasons for extending the state
of emergency.

"The imposition of the state of emergency on 1 March allowed us to
avoid new human casualties and heavier consequences for the country,"
Robert Kocharyan said, adding that no violations were registered during
the 20-day state of emergency. The president recalled that over the
last 20 days, he signed two decrees easing the state of emergency.

"Now my main objective is to fully stabilize the situation in terms
of controllability and return to the situation that existed prior to
the election in Armenia. There is no doubt that more time is required
to overcome the psychological consequences," Kocharyan added.

The Armenian president said that the preliminary results of the
investigations show that the mass unrest in Yerevan on 1-2 March was
well-organized and that "there is no doubt" about this.

Robert Kocharyan said that the cases of 40-50 arrested people would
soon be sent to court and examined as soon as possible.