5iNvjzvqgQR_kOYTqiDjwdvvpL-ug

Armenians in mass rally to mark deadly clashes

March 1, 2009

YEREVAN (AFP) – Thousands of opposition supporters defied the Armenian
authorities Sunday to rally on the first anniversary of the country’s
deadliest political clashes since the 1991 break-up of the Soviet
Union.

More than 10,000 people gathered for the rally in central Yerevan,
which the authorities had refused to sanction, carrying placards
reading "Free Political Prisoners" and "For Early Elections", an AFP
correspondent reported.

Opposition leader and former president Levon Ter-Petrosian told the
crowd he would not give up his fight against President Serzh Sarkisian
and would use "constitutional means" to force early elections.

"After a year, despite total pressure from the authorities, the people
are instead stronger and ready to continue the struggle."

Ten people, including two police officers, were killed last March 1
when street battles broke out as police moved to disperse thousands of
Ter-Petrosian supporters. Dozens more were injured in the clashes,
many from gunshot wounds.

Opposition supporters had been rallying for 11 days to denounce
Sarkisian’s win in a February election where Ter-Petrosian finished
second in the vote.

Protesters called Sunday for the release of dozens of people jailed
following the unrest, including a former foreign minister and several
other senior opposition leaders who are still on trial.

"I came here today because I want justice," said one of the
protesters, 57-year-old Siran.

"I want those responsible for this tragic event and for the deaths of
these 10 people to be punished. The government refuses to punish them,
so it should go," she said.

Protesters later marched through Yerevan to the area near the French
embassy where the clashes took place, before laying flowers and
dispersing peacefully.

Ter-Petrosian said another anti-government rally would be held on May 1.

Dozens of Armenian police kept a close eye on Sunday’s rally but made
no move to interfere. Police said Friday they would allow the
protesters to gather peacefully but warned they would react harshly to
any unrest.

Sarkisian’s press service said in a statement that the president had
lit a candle in a church Sunday in memory of the victims of the
clashes.

New York-based Human Rights Watch on Wednesday accused Armenia of
conducting "politically motivated" trials against the opposition while
failing to investigate the use "excessive force" by police during the
clashes.

Analysts have warned that Armenia remains politically unstable and
that potential losses of thousands of jobs due to the global economic
downturn could spark further turmoil.

A mountainous country of about three million people wedged between
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran and Turkey, Armenia has seen repeated
political violence and post-election protests since gaining
independence with the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1991.

Armenia’s next parliamentary election is due in 2012 and a
presidential vote in 2013.