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Police say 8 dead in clashes with demonstrators after presidential e

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  • Police say 8 dead in clashes with demonstrators after presidential e

    Police say 8 dead in clashes with demonstrators after presidential election results
    By AVET DEMOURIAN

    2 March 08
    Associated Press Writer

    YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) -- Eight people died in clashes between police
    and opposition supporters that led the president to declare a sweeping,
    20-day state of emergency, officials said Sunday.

    Police fired in the air and let off tear gas to break up Saturday's
    gathering of some 15,000 protestors upset over alleged fraud in the
    Feb. 19 presidential election. On Sunday, troops and armored vehicles
    patrolled the main streets of Armenia's capital.

    It was some of the worst political violence to hit post-Soviet Armenia,
    and it led the opposition leader to also appeal for calm.

    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.

    Police spokesman Sayat Shirinian said Sunday that eight people were
    killed and 33 officers wounded. He did not say if the dead were police
    or protesters.

    President Robert Kocharian declared the state of emergency Saturday
    night. After the announcement, a few thousand people remained in the
    streets, some holding peaceful vigils. By morning, some streets were
    littered with the hulks of burned cars and troops carrying assault
    rifles and wearing bullet-proof vests stood on street corners.

    The demonstrators supported opposition presidential candidate Levon
    Ter-Petrosian, who was being prevented from leaving his residence. From
    his home, he recorded an appeal overnight to the protesters to go home.

    Aides drove through the center of Yerevan playing the recording from
    loudspeakers atop cars, and most demonstrators appeared to be gone
    by Sunday morning.

    "Our forces are unequal, we are surrounded by troops and our president
    suggests we disperse," Ter-Petrosian said in the recording.

    Ter-Petrosian finished a distant second to Prime Minister Serge
    Sarkisian in the official results from the election. 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. They also
    allege the election was fundamentally unfair, saying the government
    exerted pressure on people to vote for Sarkisian and pressured news
    media into skewing coverage to favor him.
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