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Election Sealed By Blood

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  • Election Sealed By Blood

    ELECTION SEALED BY BLOOD

    Kommersant
    www.kommersant.com
    March 3 2008
    Russia

    Eight people were killed and 120 to 200 injured past weekend in
    Armenia's capital Erevan during the dispersal of the opposition
    demonstration and the following street riots. The government declared
    a state of emergency in the city.

    The square near the Opera Theater was encircled the police early
    Saturday. The officers needed 10 minutes to break up the 10-day sit-in
    of the opposition protesting against election of Prime Minister Serzh
    Sarkisyan to replace Robert Kocharyan as Armenia's president.

    Meanwhile, the people were gathering again near the encircled square,
    this time at the Mashtots and Tumanyan crossroad, moving towards
    the French Embassy afterwards. They filled all Myasnikyan Square,
    where the windows of French Embassy, Italian Embassy, the House of
    Moscow and Erevan City Hall look out. The riot police cordoned off
    this square in an hour but the mob blocked officers, pushing them to
    the City Hall in a phantom victory.

    No leader of the opposition was at the square that time. The people
    were waiting for Levon Ter-Petrosyan, but he was under the house
    arrest, his representatives said.

    At least 100,000 closed the ranks at the small square when Nikol
    Pashinyan from the opposition showed up to urge the crowd to wait for
    Ter-Petrosyan. To no avail though, the former president never appeared
    at that square that day. At around 9:00 p.m., a group of officers
    attempted to break up protestors from Mashtots Street, but the division
    was so small in number that the mere effort looked at least strange.

    Having swallowed the first group of riot police, the encouraged
    mob opposed the next one. The shots were heard and victorious youth
    chased the police to Mashtots and Proshyan crossroad. The violent
    riots erupted.

    Late at night, Robert Kocharyan declared the state of emergency for
    twenty days. The parliament voted nearly unanimously for that decision
    at the extraordinary sitting to sanction the army and police to use
    force and crush the riots. At 3:00 a.m., Levon Ter-Petrosyan urged
    the supporters to leave the square, warning that authorities would
    shed blood. A few thousand obeyed nearly simultaneously.

    Reinforced by armored vehicles, the riot police cleared the square
    from the remaining at 4:30 a.m.
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