HOLDING SPECIAL ELECTIONS IS A WAY-OUT

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08 April, 2008

"Today the two sides blame each other for March 1 but they both
bear moral responsibility for it", declares Arman Melikian, former
Presidential Candidate. "I find it necessary to state that the RA
Police and the Armed Forces directly obey the acting RA President
and the National Assembly and March 1 was not an exception."

He assumes confrontation would not be so violent if the results of
February 19 elections were reliable.

According to RA Migration Office about 500.000 RA citizens are abroad
on official duty and by election code they were deprived of the
opportunity to vote outside Armenia on February 19. Basing on this
information Arman Melikian announces: "Official results of February
19 elections are not reliable.

Social inquiries made exclusively in the territory of Armenia by
the "Sociometer" center showed only 70% of voters (namely 1.350.000
people) were willing to take part in the elections. Thus, it makes
the authenticity of more than 300.000 votes disputable and the victory
of any candidate in the first stage impossible."

"Unfortunately this is not the first time the Presidential Elections
have been falsified. We have encountered problems with both Levon
Ter-Petrossian and Robert Kocharian. In such state of affairs
negotiations between the authorities and the public can be the only
way out. Negotiations should aim at:

1. abolition of corruption government and elaboration of an
authority-opposition conduct

2. holding state elections based on the conduct developed

"It is time to find political solution out of the situation",
declared Melikian.