Armenian vote protest continues
Story from BBC NEWS:
europe/7272299.stm
Published: 2008/03/01 12:26:01 GMT
Demonstrators in Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, have returned to the
city’s streets hours after police cleared a protest camp from a
central square.
A crowd gathered in the embassy district to continue days of protests
against an allegedly rigged election.
Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian won the 19 February vote against
opposition challenger Levon Ter-Petrosian.
Mr Ter-Petrosian said he was now under house arrest and called for
peaceful protests to continue.
The new protest came after police cleared Freedom Square of a
opposition demonstrators who had been camping there since the election.
Media barred
Scuffles broke out as the police moved in and began forcing the
demonstrators onto buses.
Media were kept away from the square as army lorries took away the
protesters’ tents.
The Armenian authorities had given warnings that the protest was
illegal and threatened to use force to end it.
A police official told TV channel Yerkir Media that some arms and
ammunition were found in the protest camp.
International observers judged the poll in the ex-Soviet Caucasus
republic to be generally democratic.
Official results gave Mr Sarkisian 53% of the vote, with Mr
Ter-Petrosian, a former president, getting 21.5%.