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ARMENIA ENFORCES EMERGENCY RULE
Aljazeera.net
March 3 2008
Qatar
Hundreds of troops were deployed in Armenia's capital to enforce
a state of emergency as bloody confrontations over allegations of
electoral fraud caused deaths and property damage.
The reinforcements came as representatives from regional groupings
in Europe prepared to mediate in the Armenian crisis.
At least eight people have been killed in the clashes, officials said
on Sunday, with more than 130 wounded.
The government accused protesters of firing at the police but the
opposition denied using weapons in the former Soviet state's worst
political crisis.
Earlier almost 2,000 opposition supporters locked in a standoff with
police in Yerevan ended their protest over February's alleged rigged
elections following a call by Levon Ter-Petrosian, the opposition
leader, to disperse.
Police patrolling
Robert Kocharian, the Armenian president, declared a 20-day emergency
over the weekend.
Police closed major streets as hundreds of helmeted servicemen wearing
bulletproof vests and wielding assault rifles patrolled Yerevan,
warning residents not to gather in groups.
The official results of the February 19 elections showed Ter-Petrosian
finishing a distant second to Serzh Sarkisian, the prime minister.
The opposition leader, who is under house arrest, called on his
supporters to go home and refrain from further protests during the
emergency order, but vowed to continue efforts to force a new election
once it expires.
"I do not want any victims and clashes between police and innocent
people," Ter-Petrosian said. "That is why I am asking you to leave."
'No retreat'
"We shall not retreat," the opposition leader said.
"Acting within the law, within the framework of the constitution,
we shall struggle to the end, until the removal of this hateful and
criminal regime, this bandit and kleptocratic regime."
On Friday Ter-Petrosian appealed to the constitutional court to
overturn the results.
The opposition says Sarkisian stole the election by resorting to
vote-buying, ballot stuffing and pressuring media to skew coverage
in his favour, claims the government denies.
An envoy from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the leading regional security body, has offered to mediate
in the conflict.
The US has urged both sides to exercise restraint.
Observers from the OSCE have said that the election had mostly met
international standards, but that there were serious flaws especially
in the counting of votes.
Aljazeera.net
March 3 2008
Qatar
Hundreds of troops were deployed in Armenia's capital to enforce
a state of emergency as bloody confrontations over allegations of
electoral fraud caused deaths and property damage.
The reinforcements came as representatives from regional groupings
in Europe prepared to mediate in the Armenian crisis.
At least eight people have been killed in the clashes, officials said
on Sunday, with more than 130 wounded.
The government accused protesters of firing at the police but the
opposition denied using weapons in the former Soviet state's worst
political crisis.
Earlier almost 2,000 opposition supporters locked in a standoff with
police in Yerevan ended their protest over February's alleged rigged
elections following a call by Levon Ter-Petrosian, the opposition
leader, to disperse.
Police patrolling
Robert Kocharian, the Armenian president, declared a 20-day emergency
over the weekend.
Police closed major streets as hundreds of helmeted servicemen wearing
bulletproof vests and wielding assault rifles patrolled Yerevan,
warning residents not to gather in groups.
The official results of the February 19 elections showed Ter-Petrosian
finishing a distant second to Serzh Sarkisian, the prime minister.
The opposition leader, who is under house arrest, called on his
supporters to go home and refrain from further protests during the
emergency order, but vowed to continue efforts to force a new election
once it expires.
"I do not want any victims and clashes between police and innocent
people," Ter-Petrosian said. "That is why I am asking you to leave."
'No retreat'
"We shall not retreat," the opposition leader said.
"Acting within the law, within the framework of the constitution,
we shall struggle to the end, until the removal of this hateful and
criminal regime, this bandit and kleptocratic regime."
On Friday Ter-Petrosian appealed to the constitutional court to
overturn the results.
The opposition says Sarkisian stole the election by resorting to
vote-buying, ballot stuffing and pressuring media to skew coverage
in his favour, claims the government denies.
An envoy from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the leading regional security body, has offered to mediate
in the conflict.
The US has urged both sides to exercise restraint.
Observers from the OSCE have said that the election had mostly met
international standards, but that there were serious flaws especially
in the counting of votes.