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  • Eight Dead In Armenia Political Violence

    EIGHT DEAD IN ARMENIA POLITICAL VIOLENCE
    Bill Weinberg

    World War 4 Report
    March 3 2008
    NY

    Eight people are reported killed in overnight clashes between police
    and opposition protesters in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, March 2.

    The protesters, who have rallied in the capital for 12 days, accuse
    the government of rigging last month's presidential election. Troops
    and armored vehicles are now patrolling the main streets of Yerevan,
    and President Robert Kocharian has declared a 20-day state of
    emergency. Police and Interior Ministry troops used truncheons, tear
    gas, and electric stun guns to disperse opposition supporters from
    a central Yerevan square March 1, but thousands who regrouped later.

    Riot police fired tracer bullets into the air and again used tear gas
    to disperse the crowd of 15,000. Some protesters hurled rocks and
    Molotov cocktails at police. Several vehicles were set fire. Human
    Rights Watch charges Armenian authorities with using "excessive force
    and violence" against the protesters.

    Under the state of emergency, mass gatherings are banned, and media
    required to only use only official information in reportage. The
    movement of citizens is restricted and the authorities will be allowed
    to search vehicles. The Armenia parliament voted March 2 to confirm
    the state of emergency.

    The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is
    sending a special envoy to Yerevan to help mediate the crisis.

    Ambassador Heikki Talvitie is to meet with both President-elect Serzh
    Sarkisian and opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian, the second-place
    finisher in the Feb. 19 election who has claimed victory.

    Ter-Petrossian, a former president, has reportedly been placed under
    house arrest, with police guarding the entrance to his home. A number
    of his followers have also been detained. Police were reportedly
    guarding the entrance to his home.

    Police said in a statement after the protesters' encampment was
    raided March 1 that they took action after learning the protesters
    were waiting to receive "large amounts of firearms, grenades, metal
    rods, and truncheons," which they believed would be used "to stage
    provocations and stir up mass disturbances." Thes tatement said police
    were injured in the raid, and weapons were confiscated. Police chased
    media away from the square as army trucks arrived to take away the
    makeshift tent camp.

    Opposition supporters had been protesting daily in Liberty Square
    since Prime Minister Sarkisian was elected to replace his ally, Robert
    Kocharian, as president. Official results gave Sarkisian nearly 53%
    of the vote, to Ter-Petrossian's 21.5%. The elections were approved
    by the European Union, and the US State Department congratulated the
    Armenian people on an "active" and "competitive" election. (RFE/RL,
    March 2 via EurasiaNet)

    This is a more violent replay of the protests that shook Armenia
    in 2005, demanding President Robert Kocharian's resignation. We
    conjectured at the time that the US was tilting to the protesters,
    as Kocharian tilts to Moscow in the Great Game. Have the sides changed?

    Or are the State Department platitudes on the health of
    Armenian democracy just pro forma regurgitation, while the State
    Department/CIA/Soros machine is quietly backing the protesters?

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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