суббота, 8 марта 2008 г.
пятница, 7 марта 2008 г.
All goes quiet in Armenian capital
By Frale Oyen
(Editor's note: This piece was written on March 4 in Yerevan, Armenia.)
All remains quiet in the Armenian capital Yerevan.
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The city remains locked down following violent clashes this past Saturday between security forces and demonstrators contesting the results of the country's recent presidential election. This was the worst civil violence in Armenia since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The government has imposed a state of emergency, which will remain in effect until March 20. Much of the capital has been cordoned off. Residents have been warned against gathering in groups and a press blackout has been imposed.
Police and military presence in the capital remains high. Armored vehicles and tanks are parked along the streets. Soldiers stand guard outside government buildings in the city center and checkpoints have been set up on all major thoroughfares.
The atmosphere is subdued but local residents are determined to carry on as normal. Folks are heading off to work, to school and to the shops. Flower sellers and food vendors are ignoring the heavy military presence, setting up their tables and peddling their wares amid groups of soldiers.
On the surface, it's business as usual. However, just about everywhere you go, people are quietly discussing the events of this past weekend. All are uneasy about what will happen after the state of emergency is lifted.
Main Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan has vowed that the protests would continue. He maintains that the election process was rigged to ensure the government's favored candidate, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, would emerge victorious.
Ter-Petrosyan has asked the Constitutional Court to nullify the results of the Feb. 19 election. The case was heard today and all motions were denied.
Local attorneys do not think the verdict will lead to a public outcry or demonstration but many in the community are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
Officially, eight people died and more than 100 were injured in the March 1 confrontation, which began early in the day when police stormed Liberty Square. Ter-Petrosyan supporters had been holding rallies and nightly vigils there since Feb. 20.
Eyewitness accounts, however, indicate the number of deaths and injuries may be higher, but under the state of emergency imposed, journalists and mass media outlets are not allowed to disseminate any information other than that issued by official media sources.
The violence escalated when Opposition supporters, who regrouped in another part of town, clashed with security forces outside the French and Italian Embassies in central Yerevan Saturday evening.
The result: chaos and mayhem. People were beaten. Cars torched. Property damaged. Businesses looted.
Barbara Edin, who lives close to the French Embassy and who watched the night's events unfold from her back window. "It was bloody, very bloody," she said.
American Robert Evans, who lives by the Russian Embassy in downtown Yerevan, where demonstrators were throwing Molotov cocktails and where sounds of small arms fire was heard, said a lot of "reprehensible actions were committed by both sides."
The U.S. Embassy continues to advise citizens living outside the capital to stay away and those living in downtown Yerevan to "exercise caution, avoid any large groups and minimize unnecessary movements outside."
Some, fearing further escalation in the violence, have prepared for the worst. Mary Ann Coxson and her husband, who is working in Armenia on a USAID project, have each packed a small suitcase and are keeping their passports close in case they get the call to evacuate.
Hopefully, it won't come to that.
Frale Oyen and her husband, Fredrik, who works for HSBC Bank, currently live in Yerevan, Armenia. She worked for the Pacific Daily News from 1989 to 1995.
(Editor's note: This piece was written on March 4 in Yerevan, Armenia.)
All remains quiet in the Armenian capital Yerevan.
ADVERTISEMENT
OAS_AD('ArticleFlex_1');
The city remains locked down following violent clashes this past Saturday between security forces and demonstrators contesting the results of the country's recent presidential election. This was the worst civil violence in Armenia since its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The government has imposed a state of emergency, which will remain in effect until March 20. Much of the capital has been cordoned off. Residents have been warned against gathering in groups and a press blackout has been imposed.
Police and military presence in the capital remains high. Armored vehicles and tanks are parked along the streets. Soldiers stand guard outside government buildings in the city center and checkpoints have been set up on all major thoroughfares.
The atmosphere is subdued but local residents are determined to carry on as normal. Folks are heading off to work, to school and to the shops. Flower sellers and food vendors are ignoring the heavy military presence, setting up their tables and peddling their wares amid groups of soldiers.
On the surface, it's business as usual. However, just about everywhere you go, people are quietly discussing the events of this past weekend. All are uneasy about what will happen after the state of emergency is lifted.
Main Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan has vowed that the protests would continue. He maintains that the election process was rigged to ensure the government's favored candidate, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, would emerge victorious.
Ter-Petrosyan has asked the Constitutional Court to nullify the results of the Feb. 19 election. The case was heard today and all motions were denied.
Local attorneys do not think the verdict will lead to a public outcry or demonstration but many in the community are taking a wait-and-see attitude.
Officially, eight people died and more than 100 were injured in the March 1 confrontation, which began early in the day when police stormed Liberty Square. Ter-Petrosyan supporters had been holding rallies and nightly vigils there since Feb. 20.
Eyewitness accounts, however, indicate the number of deaths and injuries may be higher, but under the state of emergency imposed, journalists and mass media outlets are not allowed to disseminate any information other than that issued by official media sources.
The violence escalated when Opposition supporters, who regrouped in another part of town, clashed with security forces outside the French and Italian Embassies in central Yerevan Saturday evening.
The result: chaos and mayhem. People were beaten. Cars torched. Property damaged. Businesses looted.
Barbara Edin, who lives close to the French Embassy and who watched the night's events unfold from her back window. "It was bloody, very bloody," she said.
American Robert Evans, who lives by the Russian Embassy in downtown Yerevan, where demonstrators were throwing Molotov cocktails and where sounds of small arms fire was heard, said a lot of "reprehensible actions were committed by both sides."
The U.S. Embassy continues to advise citizens living outside the capital to stay away and those living in downtown Yerevan to "exercise caution, avoid any large groups and minimize unnecessary movements outside."
Some, fearing further escalation in the violence, have prepared for the worst. Mary Ann Coxson and her husband, who is working in Armenia on a USAID project, have each packed a small suitcase and are keeping their passports close in case they get the call to evacuate.
Hopefully, it won't come to that.
Frale Oyen and her husband, Fredrik, who works for HSBC Bank, currently live in Yerevan, Armenia. She worked for the Pacific Daily News from 1989 to 1995.
Mediators Struggle to Fix Armenia Crisis
There is little sign either the government or its opponents are prepared to give an inch as the standoff continues.
By IWPR staff in Yerevan (CRS No. 434, 05-Mar-08)As international mediators attempt to mend the damage caused by political violence of March 1, neither the Armenian government nor the opposition is in any mood to talk, and the situation remains tense.
The Armenian capital Yerevan has been under a state of emergency accompanied by severe restrictions on media reporting since a day of violence when security forces clashed with opposition protesters. The demonstrators were demanding a rerun of the February 19 presidential election, which opposition candidate and ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian lost to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. (See Armenia’s Bloody Saturday, CRS No. 434, 03-Mar-08.)
The authorities have denied rumours that large numbers of people were killed on March 1. The prosecutor general, Aghvan Hovsepian, has confirmed that as originally reported, eight people died in the clashes, one of them a policeman. Another 176 members of the security forces and 41 civilians were injured, according to officials.
Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie was in Yerevan on March 4, dispatched there hastily by the OSCE.
“We are trying to convince the Armenian authorities to curtail the [20-day] term of the state of emergency,” said Talvitie at a press conference in Yerevan. “The only thing we can do is assume responsibility; so many people have died. Now the most important thing is to try taking the path of finding a political solution.”
Talvitie has called for an inclusive political dialogue, saying this was impossible as long as the state of emergency declared by outgoing president Robert Kocharian was in force.
The European Union’s special envoy to the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, held meetings with Kocharian, president-elect Sarkisian and Ter-Petrosian in Yerevan to discuss ways of resolving the most serious political crisis Armenia has seen in nearly a decade.
Kocharian’s press spokesman Viktor Soghomonian has insisted there would be no dialogue with Ter-Petrosian.
“How can we have dialogue with those who are directly responsible for these events?” he asked.
The government says Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters deliberately provoked the confrontation which led to running street battles throughout March 1. The opposition insists it was engaged in a lawful, peaceful demonstration when the police waded in without provocation and using excessive force.
At a March 5 press conference, Kocharian warned that the protest organisers would be brought to book.
“Everyone must get the punishment they’ve earned for their activities, their just deserts. Above all, there must be punishment for the organisers whose activities led to a situation where the rally went out of control and [the crowd] became a mob,” he said. “Throughout history, no one has succeeded in controlling a crowd. When you assemble people, you have to assume responsibility for them – and for the consequences.”
So far, 27 people have been arrested and charged with mass riot, using violence against representatives of the authorities, and attempting to usurp the power of the state. Police are said to be looking for many more. A prosecution service spokesman said the names of those under investigation were not being released yet.
On March 4, the Armenian parliament gave the green light for four of its members – normally protected by an immunity clause - to be arrested and face criminal charges. The four are Hakob Hakobian, Myasnik Malkhasian, Sasun Mikaelian and Khachatur Sukiasian.
The opposition Heritage party faction in parliament said the investigations launched against the deputies amounted to political retaliation and were being conducted in a biased, unfair, and unlawful manner.
A statement released by the faction said, “The legal defence [counsel] of many of the accused have not been allowed to see their clients. We are deeply concerned about the physical and mental state of those arrested, the reason being that several of them were subjected to various types of abuse.”
As the government focuses on placing the blame on the opposition and arresting those it holds responsible for the violence, Ter-Petrosian is insisting the authorities roll back all the restrictions they have imposed.
Citing an EU statement disseminated on March 4, he said its recommendations should form the basis of an action plan. Specifically, he said, the government must “end the state of emergency, release the people detained, lift restrictions on news reporting and implement an international and fair investigation into the March 1 events. ”
At this point, it is hard to see either side shifting from its entrenched position.
Alexander Iskandarian, a political analyst and director of the Caucasus Media Institute, explained that Ter-Petrosyan presents the Kocharian/Sarkisian administration with something of a problem.
“While they were able to make offers to other opposition members and presidential candidates, as in the case of Arthur Baghdasarian, who accepted [post as secretary of the National Security Council] – there’s nothing they can offer Ter-Petrosian,” said Iskandarian. “He was the only candidate who was really competing for the presidency with Sarkisian; he put everything on the line. He acted in such a way that he cannot become a minister, prime minister or get some other position. Kocharian cannot possibly offer him the presidency, nor can he suggest anything else because he wouldn’t agree to take a job, say, as provincial governor or something of the sort.”
Where does that leave the international calls for dialogue and compromise? According to Iskandarian, the would-be mediators are trying to engage with disputing sides which have nothing to say to each other.
“There are certainly lots of questions about who’s to blame for what has happened. But the main question is whether Levon Ter-Petrosian continues his political struggle or not,” he said. “Apparently they’re seeking some options for reaching an agreement. They’re right - one should always try to do that. But I’m very pessimistic; I don’t really believe Levon Ter-Petrosian could find some place within the structure of the current authorities. I can’t imagine that happening.”
For the moment, the opposition leader is busy pressing his case that the presidential election should be annulled on the grounds that the vote was subject to serious procedural violations.
The Constitutional Court began hearings on March 4 on appeals brought by Ter-Petrosian and another candidate, Tigran Karapetian. Ter-Petrosian arrived at the court the following day, after some uncertainty about whether he was under house arrest and would therefore be prevented from attending.
In a statement before judges, he said Sarkisian should never have been allowed to run in the first place as he failed to step down from the post of prime minister during the election campaign. He also said the arrests of potential witnesses in recent days could prejudice the Constitutional Court hearing into his appeal.
By law, the court must rule on the matter by March 8.
Meanwhile, domestic reporting on the crisis remains curtailed by the restrictions imposed after the violence. The emergency legislation requires media outlets to cite only official sources on domestic political matters. Seven leading newspapers, some independent and others linked with the opposition, refused to operate under such conditions and suspended publication. Local rebroadcasting of the Armenian-language service of external broadcaster RFE/RL was suspended, and it reports that its website has been blocked.
By contrast, all the major Armenian TV and radio stations seen as favouring the authorities remain on air. Their news coverage has been reduced to reproducing government press releases, press conferences and police reports.
“We’re alarmed by this blatant attempt to censor news of the disputed election,” said a statement from Joel Simon, executive director of the United States-based watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists. “We call on Armenian authorities to withdraw the ban on independent newsgathering and dissemination, and restore access to independent and opposition media.”
EU envoy Semneby also called for the media restrictions to end.
“We hope that full media freedoms will be restored soon and that the state of emergency can be lifted,” Semneby told RFE/RL on March 4. “It goes without saying that a dialogue involving society in broader terms cannot take place without the active and extremely important role of the media.”
By IWPR staff in Yerevan (CRS No. 434, 05-Mar-08)As international mediators attempt to mend the damage caused by political violence of March 1, neither the Armenian government nor the opposition is in any mood to talk, and the situation remains tense.
The Armenian capital Yerevan has been under a state of emergency accompanied by severe restrictions on media reporting since a day of violence when security forces clashed with opposition protesters. The demonstrators were demanding a rerun of the February 19 presidential election, which opposition candidate and ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian lost to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. (See Armenia’s Bloody Saturday, CRS No. 434, 03-Mar-08.)
The authorities have denied rumours that large numbers of people were killed on March 1. The prosecutor general, Aghvan Hovsepian, has confirmed that as originally reported, eight people died in the clashes, one of them a policeman. Another 176 members of the security forces and 41 civilians were injured, according to officials.
Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie was in Yerevan on March 4, dispatched there hastily by the OSCE.
“We are trying to convince the Armenian authorities to curtail the [20-day] term of the state of emergency,” said Talvitie at a press conference in Yerevan. “The only thing we can do is assume responsibility; so many people have died. Now the most important thing is to try taking the path of finding a political solution.”
Talvitie has called for an inclusive political dialogue, saying this was impossible as long as the state of emergency declared by outgoing president Robert Kocharian was in force.
The European Union’s special envoy to the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, held meetings with Kocharian, president-elect Sarkisian and Ter-Petrosian in Yerevan to discuss ways of resolving the most serious political crisis Armenia has seen in nearly a decade.
Kocharian’s press spokesman Viktor Soghomonian has insisted there would be no dialogue with Ter-Petrosian.
“How can we have dialogue with those who are directly responsible for these events?” he asked.
The government says Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters deliberately provoked the confrontation which led to running street battles throughout March 1. The opposition insists it was engaged in a lawful, peaceful demonstration when the police waded in without provocation and using excessive force.
At a March 5 press conference, Kocharian warned that the protest organisers would be brought to book.
“Everyone must get the punishment they’ve earned for their activities, their just deserts. Above all, there must be punishment for the organisers whose activities led to a situation where the rally went out of control and [the crowd] became a mob,” he said. “Throughout history, no one has succeeded in controlling a crowd. When you assemble people, you have to assume responsibility for them – and for the consequences.”
So far, 27 people have been arrested and charged with mass riot, using violence against representatives of the authorities, and attempting to usurp the power of the state. Police are said to be looking for many more. A prosecution service spokesman said the names of those under investigation were not being released yet.
On March 4, the Armenian parliament gave the green light for four of its members – normally protected by an immunity clause - to be arrested and face criminal charges. The four are Hakob Hakobian, Myasnik Malkhasian, Sasun Mikaelian and Khachatur Sukiasian.
The opposition Heritage party faction in parliament said the investigations launched against the deputies amounted to political retaliation and were being conducted in a biased, unfair, and unlawful manner.
A statement released by the faction said, “The legal defence [counsel] of many of the accused have not been allowed to see their clients. We are deeply concerned about the physical and mental state of those arrested, the reason being that several of them were subjected to various types of abuse.”
As the government focuses on placing the blame on the opposition and arresting those it holds responsible for the violence, Ter-Petrosian is insisting the authorities roll back all the restrictions they have imposed.
Citing an EU statement disseminated on March 4, he said its recommendations should form the basis of an action plan. Specifically, he said, the government must “end the state of emergency, release the people detained, lift restrictions on news reporting and implement an international and fair investigation into the March 1 events. ”
At this point, it is hard to see either side shifting from its entrenched position.
Alexander Iskandarian, a political analyst and director of the Caucasus Media Institute, explained that Ter-Petrosyan presents the Kocharian/Sarkisian administration with something of a problem.
“While they were able to make offers to other opposition members and presidential candidates, as in the case of Arthur Baghdasarian, who accepted [post as secretary of the National Security Council] – there’s nothing they can offer Ter-Petrosian,” said Iskandarian. “He was the only candidate who was really competing for the presidency with Sarkisian; he put everything on the line. He acted in such a way that he cannot become a minister, prime minister or get some other position. Kocharian cannot possibly offer him the presidency, nor can he suggest anything else because he wouldn’t agree to take a job, say, as provincial governor or something of the sort.”
Where does that leave the international calls for dialogue and compromise? According to Iskandarian, the would-be mediators are trying to engage with disputing sides which have nothing to say to each other.
“There are certainly lots of questions about who’s to blame for what has happened. But the main question is whether Levon Ter-Petrosian continues his political struggle or not,” he said. “Apparently they’re seeking some options for reaching an agreement. They’re right - one should always try to do that. But I’m very pessimistic; I don’t really believe Levon Ter-Petrosian could find some place within the structure of the current authorities. I can’t imagine that happening.”
For the moment, the opposition leader is busy pressing his case that the presidential election should be annulled on the grounds that the vote was subject to serious procedural violations.
The Constitutional Court began hearings on March 4 on appeals brought by Ter-Petrosian and another candidate, Tigran Karapetian. Ter-Petrosian arrived at the court the following day, after some uncertainty about whether he was under house arrest and would therefore be prevented from attending.
In a statement before judges, he said Sarkisian should never have been allowed to run in the first place as he failed to step down from the post of prime minister during the election campaign. He also said the arrests of potential witnesses in recent days could prejudice the Constitutional Court hearing into his appeal.
By law, the court must rule on the matter by March 8.
Meanwhile, domestic reporting on the crisis remains curtailed by the restrictions imposed after the violence. The emergency legislation requires media outlets to cite only official sources on domestic political matters. Seven leading newspapers, some independent and others linked with the opposition, refused to operate under such conditions and suspended publication. Local rebroadcasting of the Armenian-language service of external broadcaster RFE/RL was suspended, and it reports that its website has been blocked.
By contrast, all the major Armenian TV and radio stations seen as favouring the authorities remain on air. Their news coverage has been reduced to reproducing government press releases, press conferences and police reports.
“We’re alarmed by this blatant attempt to censor news of the disputed election,” said a statement from Joel Simon, executive director of the United States-based watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists. “We call on Armenian authorities to withdraw the ban on independent newsgathering and dissemination, and restore access to independent and opposition media.”
EU envoy Semneby also called for the media restrictions to end.
“We hope that full media freedoms will be restored soon and that the state of emergency can be lifted,” Semneby told RFE/RL on March 4. “It goes without saying that a dialogue involving society in broader terms cannot take place without the active and extremely important role of the media.”
Armenia’s Bloody Saturday
Violence stuns the country, denting its image further after a controversial election.
By IWPR reporters in Yerevan (CRS No. 434, 03-Mar-08)
Armenia is counting the cost of what is already being called “Bloody Saturday,” after several people were killed in running battles between police and opposition demonstrators in the capital Yerevan.After a day of violence on March 1 which stunned this normally peaceful city, outgoing president Robert Kocharian declared a state of emergency in Yerevan. The protesters were calling for the cancellation of the February 19 election in which Kocharian’s ally and prime minister Serzh Sarkisian was voted in as president, when the security forces moved in with force to break up the demonstration. The opposition says its supporters were engaged in lawful protests and were subjected to an unprovoked attack, despite calls from the international community for a peaceful resolution of the political crisis. The authorities say they were forced to act after receiving information that weapons had been distributed among the demonstrators and that “mass riots” were planned for March 1.The trouble began early on the morning of March 1, when police moved in on several hundred protestors sleeping in tents pitched on Freedom Square in central Yerevan. According to an official statement, it was the protesters who started fighting the police. “The demonstrators began to throw stones, branches from trees, metal bars and bottles of inflammable liquid at the police. There were calls to overthrow the authorities with violence, and the police were abused,” said the statement. Not so, say opposition activists like Hovhanes, who told IWPR that the police made the first move, beating protestors and setting fire to their tents. Hovhanes said he heard them speaking Armenian with a distinct Karabakh accent, indicating that they came from that region. One of the protesters who got beaten up, Haik Yeritsian, said the assault began at around 6.30 am. “Men armed to the teeth attacked without warning and began to beat people brutally,” he said. At this point, Yeritsian said, Levon Ter-Petrosian, the former president who lost the election to Sarkisian, said, “Let’s wait and see what the military want to say.” He continued, “They said nothing and just attacked.” Yeritsian concluded, “Now I am looking for my brother Soghoman - I’ve been looking for him for two hours.” Many people were detained and taken away in police vehicles. The clashes continued for several hours. By nine in the morning, Freedom Square and surrounding streets were completely occupied by armed security forces. A cameraman told IWPR said he came to Freedom Square to film on hearing that protests were continuing there. “The police had flooded the square,” he recalled. “The tents had already been pulled down. Suddenly a group of people began to chant ‘Levon! Levon!’ Police with electric stun-guns attacked them; the people began to run and the police chased them and began beating them.” The cameraman said he shot footage of the incident but it was seized from him.Opposition protestors continued to gather wherever they could. An IWPR reporter saw policemen with truncheons attacking and dispersing groups of people who had started collecting on Mashtots Avenue. Some were forced into cars and taken away. Ter-Petrosian was escorted home and found himself effectively held under house arrest by the bodyguards the government had provided to protect him. Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian later said the opposition politician was not under arrest and was free to go out, as long as he made his own security arrangements.At around 11 am, Ter-Petrosian held a press conference for those journalists whom the guards would let through – mainly foreigners. “It all happened very quickly,” he told the reporters. “In ten or 15 minutes the square was cleared, there were no people left on it, and it was full of police engaged in this operation.”Ter-Petrosian said that much of the violence committed against the police was the work of “provocateurs”, and that the police themselves had distributed improvised weapons.He stressed that he enjoyed immunity because he had formally filed a protest with the constitutional court the day before challenging the results of the election.In the meantime, thousands of opposition supporters converged on the French embassy in the centre of Yerevan – a place they considered relatively safe because of the proximity of western diplomats -- and continued their protests outside it. Large groups of armed police units moved to the scene, and there were fears that further violence would break out. After Armenia’s human rights ombudsman and members of parliament from the opposition Heritage Party arrived on the scene, the police withdrew.The protestors built a barricade out of buses and armed themselves with metal spikes and stones. A rubbish truck tried to pass through but was stopped and pelted with clothes and shoes. At around 3 pm, a police jeep drove into the crowd, and two people were injured. Furious protestors smashed and burned the vehicle. Not far away, a clash broke out near the mayor’s office and opposition parliamentarian Armen Martirosian was injured as he tried to calm things down.Despite being urged to disperse, more protesters arrived on the scene for a rally which started at around 4 pm. The streets around the embassy filled up with armoured vehicles and armed men. President Kocharian called a press conference for eight in the evening, but it was conducted in the end by foreign minister Oskanian, who warned that a state of emergency might be imposed and called on protestors to go home.An hour later, shots were heard in the streets and a group of opposition protestors were dispersed with tear gas. On Leo Street, a fight broke out between local residents and demonstrators, on the one hand, and armed police on the other. A supermarket had its windows smashed and the contents were stolen. The authorities said it was the work of looters, although one local resident said she saw goods being taken away in a police car. Clashes continued into the evening, with dozens of wounded on both sides. At around ten in the evening of March 1, President Kocharian imposed a state of emergency in Yerevan, restricting the rights of free assembly, media, parties and public organisations. The protests continued until five the next morning. The protestors finally dispersed when Ter-Petrosian urged them to go home and continue their fight by other means.A special session of parliament was convened at six that morning, which approved a state of emergency for a 20-day period. “If we hadn’t taken the appropriate measures we would simply have allowed supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosian to continue their rioting in our city,” said the speaker of parliament, Tigran Torosian. “The decision to impose a state of emergency was not taken lightly; there was no other solution.”An official police statement issued on March 2 said that an “uncontrollable crowd” of 7,000 had been looting and attacking cars and shops. Official figures said eight people died – seven of them protestors and one a policeman. As of March 3, 59 people remained in hospital, 27 of them police. One of those who died was opposition activist Gor Kloyan, a 29-year-old father of two, who was hit in the stomach by a bullet.Gor had been in the crowd next to a statue near both the mayor’s office and the French embassy. He was taken to hospital but died early on March 2. His relatives were angry with medical staff, saying that they did not treat him swiftly enough.Armen Soghoyan, head of the Health and Social Security Department at the mayor’s office in Yerevan, told IWPR that he was aware of four dead bodies being brought in to the hospitals controlled by his office.“The health ministry has all the figures,” he said. “We sent our figures to them, but they do not share their figures with us.” “Only ten per cent of hospitals are under the mayor’s office so I really cannot say anything about other hospitals in town”, he said, adding that, “whenever there is a state of emergency, a lot of different rumours go around.”International bodies and politicians expressed alarm at the news from Yerevan, and the OSCE’s Finnish presidency dispatched Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie to Armenia to act as a mediator.Many Armenians are still reeling at the sudden outbreak of violence in their capital.“Whoever’s fault it is, this bloodshed will cost us all dearly,” said Aram Grigorian, a 56-year-old native of Yerevan, reflecting the shock felt by many. “It has set us back for several decades.”The head of the Armenian church, Catholicos Garegin II, urged his compatriots to show restraint. “Today the Armenian people are grieving for their dead sons. We never expected that the innate common sense of our people would give way to hatred and enmity,” he said. “We are answerable to history and to future generations; we therefore cannot allow further irrational acts to take place which would threaten the stability of our country.”Of major world leaders, the Russian and French presidents, Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Sarkozy, have congratulated Serzh Sarkisian on his victory but other western governments have not yet sent formal messages as they are waiting for a final observers’ report on the February 19 poll.
By IWPR reporters in Yerevan (CRS No. 434, 03-Mar-08)
Armenia is counting the cost of what is already being called “Bloody Saturday,” after several people were killed in running battles between police and opposition demonstrators in the capital Yerevan.After a day of violence on March 1 which stunned this normally peaceful city, outgoing president Robert Kocharian declared a state of emergency in Yerevan. The protesters were calling for the cancellation of the February 19 election in which Kocharian’s ally and prime minister Serzh Sarkisian was voted in as president, when the security forces moved in with force to break up the demonstration. The opposition says its supporters were engaged in lawful protests and were subjected to an unprovoked attack, despite calls from the international community for a peaceful resolution of the political crisis. The authorities say they were forced to act after receiving information that weapons had been distributed among the demonstrators and that “mass riots” were planned for March 1.The trouble began early on the morning of March 1, when police moved in on several hundred protestors sleeping in tents pitched on Freedom Square in central Yerevan. According to an official statement, it was the protesters who started fighting the police. “The demonstrators began to throw stones, branches from trees, metal bars and bottles of inflammable liquid at the police. There were calls to overthrow the authorities with violence, and the police were abused,” said the statement. Not so, say opposition activists like Hovhanes, who told IWPR that the police made the first move, beating protestors and setting fire to their tents. Hovhanes said he heard them speaking Armenian with a distinct Karabakh accent, indicating that they came from that region. One of the protesters who got beaten up, Haik Yeritsian, said the assault began at around 6.30 am. “Men armed to the teeth attacked without warning and began to beat people brutally,” he said. At this point, Yeritsian said, Levon Ter-Petrosian, the former president who lost the election to Sarkisian, said, “Let’s wait and see what the military want to say.” He continued, “They said nothing and just attacked.” Yeritsian concluded, “Now I am looking for my brother Soghoman - I’ve been looking for him for two hours.” Many people were detained and taken away in police vehicles. The clashes continued for several hours. By nine in the morning, Freedom Square and surrounding streets were completely occupied by armed security forces. A cameraman told IWPR said he came to Freedom Square to film on hearing that protests were continuing there. “The police had flooded the square,” he recalled. “The tents had already been pulled down. Suddenly a group of people began to chant ‘Levon! Levon!’ Police with electric stun-guns attacked them; the people began to run and the police chased them and began beating them.” The cameraman said he shot footage of the incident but it was seized from him.Opposition protestors continued to gather wherever they could. An IWPR reporter saw policemen with truncheons attacking and dispersing groups of people who had started collecting on Mashtots Avenue. Some were forced into cars and taken away. Ter-Petrosian was escorted home and found himself effectively held under house arrest by the bodyguards the government had provided to protect him. Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanian later said the opposition politician was not under arrest and was free to go out, as long as he made his own security arrangements.At around 11 am, Ter-Petrosian held a press conference for those journalists whom the guards would let through – mainly foreigners. “It all happened very quickly,” he told the reporters. “In ten or 15 minutes the square was cleared, there were no people left on it, and it was full of police engaged in this operation.”Ter-Petrosian said that much of the violence committed against the police was the work of “provocateurs”, and that the police themselves had distributed improvised weapons.He stressed that he enjoyed immunity because he had formally filed a protest with the constitutional court the day before challenging the results of the election.In the meantime, thousands of opposition supporters converged on the French embassy in the centre of Yerevan – a place they considered relatively safe because of the proximity of western diplomats -- and continued their protests outside it. Large groups of armed police units moved to the scene, and there were fears that further violence would break out. After Armenia’s human rights ombudsman and members of parliament from the opposition Heritage Party arrived on the scene, the police withdrew.The protestors built a barricade out of buses and armed themselves with metal spikes and stones. A rubbish truck tried to pass through but was stopped and pelted with clothes and shoes. At around 3 pm, a police jeep drove into the crowd, and two people were injured. Furious protestors smashed and burned the vehicle. Not far away, a clash broke out near the mayor’s office and opposition parliamentarian Armen Martirosian was injured as he tried to calm things down.Despite being urged to disperse, more protesters arrived on the scene for a rally which started at around 4 pm. The streets around the embassy filled up with armoured vehicles and armed men. President Kocharian called a press conference for eight in the evening, but it was conducted in the end by foreign minister Oskanian, who warned that a state of emergency might be imposed and called on protestors to go home.An hour later, shots were heard in the streets and a group of opposition protestors were dispersed with tear gas. On Leo Street, a fight broke out between local residents and demonstrators, on the one hand, and armed police on the other. A supermarket had its windows smashed and the contents were stolen. The authorities said it was the work of looters, although one local resident said she saw goods being taken away in a police car. Clashes continued into the evening, with dozens of wounded on both sides. At around ten in the evening of March 1, President Kocharian imposed a state of emergency in Yerevan, restricting the rights of free assembly, media, parties and public organisations. The protests continued until five the next morning. The protestors finally dispersed when Ter-Petrosian urged them to go home and continue their fight by other means.A special session of parliament was convened at six that morning, which approved a state of emergency for a 20-day period. “If we hadn’t taken the appropriate measures we would simply have allowed supporters of Levon Ter-Petrosian to continue their rioting in our city,” said the speaker of parliament, Tigran Torosian. “The decision to impose a state of emergency was not taken lightly; there was no other solution.”An official police statement issued on March 2 said that an “uncontrollable crowd” of 7,000 had been looting and attacking cars and shops. Official figures said eight people died – seven of them protestors and one a policeman. As of March 3, 59 people remained in hospital, 27 of them police. One of those who died was opposition activist Gor Kloyan, a 29-year-old father of two, who was hit in the stomach by a bullet.Gor had been in the crowd next to a statue near both the mayor’s office and the French embassy. He was taken to hospital but died early on March 2. His relatives were angry with medical staff, saying that they did not treat him swiftly enough.Armen Soghoyan, head of the Health and Social Security Department at the mayor’s office in Yerevan, told IWPR that he was aware of four dead bodies being brought in to the hospitals controlled by his office.“The health ministry has all the figures,” he said. “We sent our figures to them, but they do not share their figures with us.” “Only ten per cent of hospitals are under the mayor’s office so I really cannot say anything about other hospitals in town”, he said, adding that, “whenever there is a state of emergency, a lot of different rumours go around.”International bodies and politicians expressed alarm at the news from Yerevan, and the OSCE’s Finnish presidency dispatched Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie to Armenia to act as a mediator.Many Armenians are still reeling at the sudden outbreak of violence in their capital.“Whoever’s fault it is, this bloodshed will cost us all dearly,” said Aram Grigorian, a 56-year-old native of Yerevan, reflecting the shock felt by many. “It has set us back for several decades.”The head of the Armenian church, Catholicos Garegin II, urged his compatriots to show restraint. “Today the Armenian people are grieving for their dead sons. We never expected that the innate common sense of our people would give way to hatred and enmity,” he said. “We are answerable to history and to future generations; we therefore cannot allow further irrational acts to take place which would threaten the stability of our country.”Of major world leaders, the Russian and French presidents, Vladimir Putin and Nicolas Sarkozy, have congratulated Serzh Sarkisian on his victory but other western governments have not yet sent formal messages as they are waiting for a final observers’ report on the February 19 poll.
Armenian unrest threatens peace in Nagarno-Karabakh - Feature
Thu, 06 Mar 2008 15:52:00 GMT
Moscow/Yerevan - Border fighting between Armenia and Azeri troops in the disputed region of Nagarno-Karabakh turned to heavy artillery shelling this week in the worst clashes since a 1994 ceasefire that ended a six-year, full-scale war. Between 15 and 16 soldiers died and dozens were injured in Wednesday night clashes according to conflicting casualty claims by Armenian and Azeri officials.
Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov on Thursday accused Armenia of initiating the battle to distract from violent post- election opposition protests at home that led the president to impose a 20-day emergency rule over the capital Yerevan.
But Armenian President Robert Kocharian hit back Thursday: "The Azeris thought that the situation in Armenia had dulled the vigilance of our armed forces in Karabakh, that all our large military divisions had been relocated."
The unresolved status of Nagarno-Karabakh, an Azeri province controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists, was the hottest topic in Armenia's February 19 elections and daily protests since then have led to clashes with police in which eight people died Sunday.
The opposition's leader, Armenia's first post-Soviet president Levon Ter-Petrosian, pledged to "correct" what he called "his biggest mistake": bringing into government top military officials from Nagorno-Karabakh such as incumbent Kocharian and Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, whose presidential election win he now refuses to recognize.
Ter-Petrosian accuses the Karabakh Clan, as his supporters have dubbed them, of widespread corruption and nepotism, including signing over control of crucial economic sectors to Russia, thereby transforming a long-time alliance into a "vassal-sovereign" relationship.
Coming three weeks after Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, Russia and the United States fear escalating tensions in the region and have called for restraint.
The mountainous Caucasus region where Nagarno-Karabakh lies has emerged as strategically important as it lies along gas routes from the energy-rich Caspian Sea region to Europe.
Western powers fear further instability could disrupt gas routes and further undermine a fragile security situation in the neighbourhood, which is host to a Russian military base and borders Iran.
The United States and NATO declared Thursday that Kosovo's independence from Serbia could not serve as a precedence for Nagarno- Karabakh or any other region.
Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region on Wednesday asked for the European Union, the United Nations and Russia to recognize its independence, bearing out Russia's claim that Kosovo's independence would lead to a "parade of sovereignty" in the Caucasus.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev firmly rejects Kosovo's independence as illegal and has upped rhetoric about using any means to achieve unity ahead of October presidential elections.
"We have been buying military machinery, airplanes and ammunition to be ready to liberate the occupied territories, and we are ready to do this," Russian newspaper Noviye Izvestia quoted Aliyev as saying on Thursday.
"The conflict will come to an international solution when Armenia feels Azerbaijan's force," he said.
Oil-rich Azerbaijan has increased its military spending to more than 1 billion dollars in 2008, provoking a mini-arms race with Armenia, which in turn has hiked its military spending by 20 per cent in the past year.
Thomas Gomart, head of the Russian/CIS programme at the Paris- based Institut Francais des Relations Internationales, voiced concern over the "evolution of the rhetoric" in a recent interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
"The disproportion in the two countries' military spending is worrying. Azerbaijan's expenditure could be compared to the total Armenian budget," he said.
Observers also fear that Armenia's post-election instability could aggravate relations with Turkey which has allied with fellow Muslim state Azerbaijan to blockade landlocked Armenia along its borders.
Ter-Petrosian, who was forced from power by the current leadership in 1998 for his proposal to compromise in peace talks with Azerbaijan, has argued the blockades are killing Armenia's possibilities for growth. "Russia cannot be Armenia's only road to the outside world," he has said.
But a construction boom and a healthy economy spoke in favour of the established leadership in the recent elections, and despite rallying thousand-strong opposition protests Ter-Petrosian remains widely unpopular among those who recall the economic hardships of the post-Soviet transition.
Nagarno-Karabakh native and war hero Sarkisian is expected to keep up the hawkish stance set by his political mentor Kocharian during his decade at the helm, perpetuating fears of a new war along the border where gunfire breaks out regularly.
Moscow/Yerevan - Border fighting between Armenia and Azeri troops in the disputed region of Nagarno-Karabakh turned to heavy artillery shelling this week in the worst clashes since a 1994 ceasefire that ended a six-year, full-scale war. Between 15 and 16 soldiers died and dozens were injured in Wednesday night clashes according to conflicting casualty claims by Armenian and Azeri officials.
Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mamedyarov on Thursday accused Armenia of initiating the battle to distract from violent post- election opposition protests at home that led the president to impose a 20-day emergency rule over the capital Yerevan.
But Armenian President Robert Kocharian hit back Thursday: "The Azeris thought that the situation in Armenia had dulled the vigilance of our armed forces in Karabakh, that all our large military divisions had been relocated."
The unresolved status of Nagarno-Karabakh, an Azeri province controlled by ethnic Armenian separatists, was the hottest topic in Armenia's February 19 elections and daily protests since then have led to clashes with police in which eight people died Sunday.
The opposition's leader, Armenia's first post-Soviet president Levon Ter-Petrosian, pledged to "correct" what he called "his biggest mistake": bringing into government top military officials from Nagorno-Karabakh such as incumbent Kocharian and Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, whose presidential election win he now refuses to recognize.
Ter-Petrosian accuses the Karabakh Clan, as his supporters have dubbed them, of widespread corruption and nepotism, including signing over control of crucial economic sectors to Russia, thereby transforming a long-time alliance into a "vassal-sovereign" relationship.
Coming three weeks after Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia, Russia and the United States fear escalating tensions in the region and have called for restraint.
The mountainous Caucasus region where Nagarno-Karabakh lies has emerged as strategically important as it lies along gas routes from the energy-rich Caspian Sea region to Europe.
Western powers fear further instability could disrupt gas routes and further undermine a fragile security situation in the neighbourhood, which is host to a Russian military base and borders Iran.
The United States and NATO declared Thursday that Kosovo's independence from Serbia could not serve as a precedence for Nagarno- Karabakh or any other region.
Georgia's breakaway South Ossetia region on Wednesday asked for the European Union, the United Nations and Russia to recognize its independence, bearing out Russia's claim that Kosovo's independence would lead to a "parade of sovereignty" in the Caucasus.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev firmly rejects Kosovo's independence as illegal and has upped rhetoric about using any means to achieve unity ahead of October presidential elections.
"We have been buying military machinery, airplanes and ammunition to be ready to liberate the occupied territories, and we are ready to do this," Russian newspaper Noviye Izvestia quoted Aliyev as saying on Thursday.
"The conflict will come to an international solution when Armenia feels Azerbaijan's force," he said.
Oil-rich Azerbaijan has increased its military spending to more than 1 billion dollars in 2008, provoking a mini-arms race with Armenia, which in turn has hiked its military spending by 20 per cent in the past year.
Thomas Gomart, head of the Russian/CIS programme at the Paris- based Institut Francais des Relations Internationales, voiced concern over the "evolution of the rhetoric" in a recent interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.
"The disproportion in the two countries' military spending is worrying. Azerbaijan's expenditure could be compared to the total Armenian budget," he said.
Observers also fear that Armenia's post-election instability could aggravate relations with Turkey which has allied with fellow Muslim state Azerbaijan to blockade landlocked Armenia along its borders.
Ter-Petrosian, who was forced from power by the current leadership in 1998 for his proposal to compromise in peace talks with Azerbaijan, has argued the blockades are killing Armenia's possibilities for growth. "Russia cannot be Armenia's only road to the outside world," he has said.
But a construction boom and a healthy economy spoke in favour of the established leadership in the recent elections, and despite rallying thousand-strong opposition protests Ter-Petrosian remains widely unpopular among those who recall the economic hardships of the post-Soviet transition.
Nagarno-Karabakh native and war hero Sarkisian is expected to keep up the hawkish stance set by his political mentor Kocharian during his decade at the helm, perpetuating fears of a new war along the border where gunfire breaks out regularly.
Prescott leads Armenia peace trip
Ex-deputy prime minister John Prescott is heading a diplomatic mission aimed at defusing Armenia's political crisis.
A state of emergency has been in force in the capital, Yerevan, since 1 March, after violence erupted amid allegations of vote-rigging in recent elections.
Mr Prescott is visiting as a member of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, which he joined in October.
He will meet outgoing president Robert Kocharian and president-elect Serzh Sarkisian during his two-day trip.
The crisis followed recent presidential elections, in which the prime minister, Mr Sarkisian, officially beat the main opposition leader, Levon Ter-Petrosian, by a wide margin.
Mr Ter-Petrosian, a former president, claims the election was rigged.
At the time of the elections on 19 February, John Prescott headed a similar delegation which travelled around Armenia, observing the poll.
They judged the election to have been generally democratic, but said there had been some problems with the counting of votes.
Official election results in Armenia gave Serzh Sarkisian 53% of the vote, and Levon Ter-Petrosian 21.5%.
A state of emergency was imposed as violence flared in Yerevan
The Council of Europe has sent Mr Prescott back to Armenia on what it calls a "snap visit", concerned by the violence and the imposition of the state of emergency.
The aim is to "assess the post-electoral situation... and explore possibilities for defusing the current political crisis and promoting dialogue", the Council said in a statement.
Mr Prescott will also meet defeated candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian.
Opposition anger
The crisis in Armenia began when opposition demonstrators responded to electoral defeat with 11 days of mass demonstrations in the capital, setting up barricades in Yerevan's city centre.
The government declared the protests were illegal, and on 1 March police fought pitched battles with demonstrators on the streets.
Police clashed with protesters in Yerevan on 1 March
Eight people who had been demonstrating in support of the defeated opposition candidate, Levon Ter-Petrosian, were killed. About 100 others were injured in the violence.
Mr Ter-Petrosian was placed under house arrest, but has been allowed out to attend proceedings at the Constitutional Court to challenge the election results.
Mr Prescott joined the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe last October, as leader of the UK contingent of 18 Westminster MPs.
The Council of Europe is a body founded in 1949 to promote democratic ideals and human rights in Europe, and is not part of the apparatus of the European Union.
A state of emergency has been in force in the capital, Yerevan, since 1 March, after violence erupted amid allegations of vote-rigging in recent elections.
Mr Prescott is visiting as a member of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, which he joined in October.
He will meet outgoing president Robert Kocharian and president-elect Serzh Sarkisian during his two-day trip.
The crisis followed recent presidential elections, in which the prime minister, Mr Sarkisian, officially beat the main opposition leader, Levon Ter-Petrosian, by a wide margin.
Mr Ter-Petrosian, a former president, claims the election was rigged.
At the time of the elections on 19 February, John Prescott headed a similar delegation which travelled around Armenia, observing the poll.
They judged the election to have been generally democratic, but said there had been some problems with the counting of votes.
Official election results in Armenia gave Serzh Sarkisian 53% of the vote, and Levon Ter-Petrosian 21.5%.
A state of emergency was imposed as violence flared in Yerevan
The Council of Europe has sent Mr Prescott back to Armenia on what it calls a "snap visit", concerned by the violence and the imposition of the state of emergency.
The aim is to "assess the post-electoral situation... and explore possibilities for defusing the current political crisis and promoting dialogue", the Council said in a statement.
Mr Prescott will also meet defeated candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian.
Opposition anger
The crisis in Armenia began when opposition demonstrators responded to electoral defeat with 11 days of mass demonstrations in the capital, setting up barricades in Yerevan's city centre.
The government declared the protests were illegal, and on 1 March police fought pitched battles with demonstrators on the streets.
Police clashed with protesters in Yerevan on 1 March
Eight people who had been demonstrating in support of the defeated opposition candidate, Levon Ter-Petrosian, were killed. About 100 others were injured in the violence.
Mr Ter-Petrosian was placed under house arrest, but has been allowed out to attend proceedings at the Constitutional Court to challenge the election results.
Mr Prescott joined the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe last October, as leader of the UK contingent of 18 Westminster MPs.
The Council of Europe is a body founded in 1949 to promote democratic ideals and human rights in Europe, and is not part of the apparatus of the European Union.
Armenian Parliament Sanctions Arrest Of Opposition MPs
Armenia’s parliament on Tuesday gave a green light for the arrest and prosecution on coup charges of four of its members loyal to former President Levon Ter-Petrosian. Miasnik Malkhasian, Hakob Hakobian, Sasun Mikaelian and Khachatur Sukiasian will be formally charged under articles of the Criminal Code relating to attempts to seize power and provoke riots for that purpose. The charges stem from Saturday’s deadly clashes between Ter-Petrosian supporters and security forces that followed the forcible break-up of an opposition sit-in in Yerevan’s Liberty Square. Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to lift their colleagues’ immunity from prosecution after a speech by Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian. He reiterated government allegations that the clashes had been planned by the Ter-Petrosian-led opposition in advance. Hakobian and Malkhasian were detained on Sunday and brought to the parliament session by masked security officers. Both men were allowed to address the National Assembly and deny the accusations. The two other accused deputies appear to have gone into hiding. Hovsepian told journalists later in the day that law-enforcement authorities are also hunting for several other unspecified Ter-Petrosian allies and trying to make sure that none of them flees the country. He did not exclude that the former president may also be arrested and put on trial. “The investigation is underway and we will make a decision based on its results,” he said. The coup case was described as baseless and politically motivated by Zharangutyun Party of Raffi Hovannisian, the only opposition group represented in the 131-member National Assembly. Addressing the legislature, Hovannisian said it will only deepen the post-election unrest in the country. In a written statement, Hovannisian and the six other Zharangutyun parliamentarians condemned the use of lethal force against opposition demonstrators and expressed serious concern about the ensued arrests of opposition activists. “The reports received from the legal defenders of several arrestees allow us to assert that all of Yerevan’s detention halls are full of people who have become the patent victims of police brutality,” they said. “This situation confirms the public fear that the country’s law enforcement bodies actually do not intend to carry out a fair and unbiased investigation into this and all other tragic events which have taken the lives of Armenian citizens,” added the statement.
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