ARMENIA INAUGURATES NEW PRESIDENT
Voice of America News
April 9, 2008
Armenia’s new president, Serzh Sarkisyan, has pledged to heal rifts
with opponents who criticized his election as fraudulent.
The former prime minister made the pledge as he took his oath of
office Wednesday at a televised ceremony in the opera house of
Armenia’s capital, Yerevan.
Following the ceremony, the president appointed central bank chief
Tigran Sarkisyan as the country’s new prime minister. The two men
are not related.
In central Yerevan, about 1,000 opposition supporters gathered to
commemorate those killed in clashes between security forces and
protesters following the February 19 elections. The violence left at
least eight people dead and hundreds injured.
Rights groups have called on Mr. Sarkisyan to act quickly to address
what they describe as a human rights crisis in the country.
Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group also have urged
him to launch a probe into the election and the subsequent crackdown
on the opposition.
Outgoing President Robert Kocharian delivered his farewell address
to the nation Tuesday, thanking the Armenian people for contributing
to the country’s development in the past decade. He also expressed
confidence in Armenia’s future under the leadership of Mr. Sarkisyan,
his hand-picked successor.
Mr. Sarkisyan says he plans to form a coalition government that
guarantees freedoms and the supremacy of law. He also has pledged to
fight unemployment and corruption.