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OSCE sends envoy to Armenia in bid to end unrest

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  • OSCE sends envoy to Armenia in bid to end unrest

    OSCE sends envoy to Armenia in bid to end unrest

    Sun Mar 2, 2008 9:51am EST

    HELSINKI (Reuters) - Europe's human rights and security watchdog sent
    a special envoy to Armenia on Sunday in a bid to end the country's
    worst unrest in a decade.

    "I have sent my special envoy to try to bring both sides to the
    negotiating table and to find a way out of this crisis through
    political dialogue," the Organization for Security and Cooperation
    in Europe (OSCE) chairman, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva,
    said in a statement.

    The envoy, 68-year old diplomat Heikki Talvitie, is scheduled to
    arrive in Yerevan on Sunday.

    Eight people were killed and 33 police injured in Armenia's capital
    during overnight protests as demonstrators took to the streets saying
    the February 19 presidential vote was rigged.

    The protests ended after the government declared a state of emergency
    and mobilized the army.

    OSCE chairman Kanerva condemned the use of force against demonstrators
    and called for restraint.

    "I urge the authorities to release those detained, and I again call
    on the government and the opposition to engage in dialogue", he said.

    "Everything should be done to avoid further casualties and any further
    escalation of tension."

    Talvitie intends to meet outgoing President Robert Kocharyan, outgoing
    Prime Minister and president-elect Serzh Sarksyan, Foreign Minister
    Vardan Oskanyan and opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan.

    Ter-Petrosyan, who says he was cheated during last month's vote,
    is under house arrest.

    Talvitie worked as the European Union's Special Representative for
    the South Caucasus from 2003 to 2006.

    (Reporting by Tarmo Virki; Editing by Matthew Jones)
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