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OSCE Sends Envoy To Armenia Following Post-Election Unrest

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  • OSCE Sends Envoy To Armenia Following Post-Election Unrest

    OSCE SENDS ENVOY TO ARMENIA FOLLOWING POST-ELECTION UNREST

    Xinhua
    www.chinaview.cn
    March 2 2008
    China

    HELSINKI, March 2 (Xinhua) -- The Organization on Security and
    Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) sent a special envoy to Armenia on
    Sunday to try to resolve the political crisis there, Finland's Foreign
    Ministry said.

    "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," said Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva,
    whose country currently holds the OSCE'S rotating chairmanship,
    in a statement.

    Heikki Talvitie, a veteran diplomat with long experience in the
    region, will hold separate talks with Armenian outgoing president
    Robert Kocharian, outgoing prime minister, president-elect Serzh
    Sargsyan and opposition leaders, said the statement.

    "The OSCE considers dialogue central to stability, and stability is
    vital in the South Caucasus. Everything should be done to avoid further
    casualties and any further escalation of tension," said Kanerva.

    Kanerva condemned the use of force against peaceful demonstrators in
    the capital city Yerevan Saturday, said the statement.

    Armenian opposition supporters have been rallying in Yerevan to
    protest the outcome of the Feb. 19 presidential election, in which
    Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan won with 52.8 percent of the vote.

    Opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who got 21.5 percent of
    the vote, claimed the vote was rigged and demanded a rerun of the
    elections.

    According to local media reports, police said eight people had been
    killed in the overnight conflict.

    The Armenian parliament approved a presidential decree on Sunday
    introducing a 20-day state of emergency in the Caucasus nation after
    the clash between police and opposition protesters.
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