Armenia declares state of emergency
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - March 1, 2008 The announcement from the office of President Robert Kocharian
came shortly after police broke up the rally of about 15,000
demonstrators. Earlier, police used batons to remove hundreds of
protesters who had camped for more than a week in tents in a square
near the city mayor's office.
Tensions remained high into the night. Groups of angry young
people were prowling the streets of the capital, calling for others
to join them, city residents told The Associated Press. An AP
reporter saw cars overturned and the police department said some of
its cars had been set on fire. Looters hit stores and kiosks,
police said.
"What's going on now is not a political process. It has gone
over the edge," Kocharian said in a late-night news conference.
"I appeal to the people of Armenia to show restraint and
understanding."
Kocharian's office said the state of emergency would remain in
effect for 20 days. The measure imposes severe restrictions,
including banning all mass gatherings and ordering that news media
reports on domestic political matters include only official
information.
The order also says police have the right to restrict movement
and to search private and public vehicles.
Witnesses said they had seen people injured in the later rally,
but there was no immediate official information on casualties.
Kocharian said eight police officers were injured.
Kocharian claimed some of the demonstrators were armed and that
police said they had been shot at.
The Armenian Health Ministry said 10 people were hospitalized
from the earlier clash, but did not say how severe their injuries
were nor how many of the injured were police.
The opposition has protested the results of the Feb. 19
presidential election results and tried to force a new vote.
Rallies daily have drawn tens of thousands of people; a few hundred
remained at the square each night in tents.
Officials say Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian won the vote
outright. But supporters of opposition candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian have rejected the results, alleging fraud.
Sarkisian is a close colleague of Kocharian, who is stepping
down because the constitution does not permit him to seek a third
term. Opponents allege the government manipulated the vote count,
pressured people to vote for Sarkisian and pressured the news media
into skewing coverage in favor of him.
The observer mission from the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe said there were concerns about the vote
count, but it issued a generally positive assessment.
Sustained unrest in Armenia could undermine stability in the
volatile Caucasus region. Armenia borders Turkey, Iran, Georgia and
Azerbaijan - countries important for producing or shipping oil and
gas to Western customers.
"At this important stage in Armenia's development, everything
should be done to avoid any escalation of tension," said Finnish
foreign minister Ilkka Kanerva, the chairman-in-office of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Ter-Petrosian, who was president of Armenia in the first painful
years of independence from the Soviet Union, appealed to the
Constitutional Court on Friday to overturn the results.
Security police on Saturday prevented Tar-Petrosian from leaving
his residence, but he told reporters that he was not under formal
house arrest.
"If he is accused of committing a crime, he should be properly
charged and prosecuted in a court of law like anyone else. In a
democracy you cannot arbitrarily detain political opponents," said
Terry Davis, secretary-general of the Council of Europe, the
continent's main human rights body.