OPPOSITION DEMANDS THAT OMBUDSMAN CHALLENGE LEGALITY OF ORDERS OF USING ARMED FORCES ON MARCH 1 AT CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

Noyan Tapan
Feb 20, 2009

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The irrefutable proof of the Public
Committee on Study of the 2008 March 1 events is evidence that in order
to suppress the people complaining against the electoral falsifications
the authorities illegally used the army. Levon Zurabian, the Armenian
National Congress (ANC) Coordinator, stated at the February 18 press
conference. He said that the opposition is going to apply to the RA
Ombudsman demanding that the latter challenge at the Constitutional
Court (CC) correspondence to the Constitution of the orders to use
the army and armed forces on March 1.

Video recordings were shown during the press conference of how on
March 1 at about 14:00 the BTR internal troops armoured car appeared
in the territory near the monument to A. Miasnikian, in the rally
place. According to Vladimir Karapetian, a member of the Public
Committee, ANC Foreign Contacts Coordinator, bringing that car against
the peaceful demonstrants caused the natural and legal response of the
latters envisaged by Article 42, RA Criminal Code, necessary defence.

"In consideration of the circumstance that after the midday there were
more than 50 units of military materiel with the RA Defence Ministry
state registration numbers in Yerevan, one can assert that several
dozens of Defence Ministry armed representatives were involved in the
law enforcers’ actions," V. Karapetian said. He added that there was
a BRDM armoured car near the government building on that day, which
is at the Military Police disposal. It was also mentioned that the
BMP car arriving in Yerevan at 20:00 from its dislocation place, Lori
or Tavush region, started off at least 8 hours ago, that is, before
announcing the state of emergency. V. Karapetian reported that the
Committee asks the fact-finding group to study all mentioned materials.