Raffi Hovannisian’s “headquarters “issued a statement today claiming that a man attempted to assassinate the Heritage Party leader on Saturday during a Barevolution folk concert in Liberty Square.

The statement says that an unidentified man, seen in the accompanying photo, pushed his way through the crowd while yelling.

“As the man closed in on his target, the 20 or so policemen, assigned to keep the peace at the Square, stood idly by,” the statement reads.

Raffi Hovannisian’s headquarters has criticized the cops for not taking immediate action and only doing their duty “when citizens themselves blocked the potential assassin, when he was within ten meters away from Hovannisian.”

They also have charged that the police are more interested in carrying out heavy-handed tactics against peaceful rally participants in the square than in ensuring a culture of mutual respect.

An hour before the concert, the cops formed a human wall around a small patch of grass to prevent a tight rope walker from performing a short acrobatic presentation.

At last Friday’s Barevolution rally, top police brass were adamant that a tri-color banner that had been placed around the base of the Hovhannes Tumanyan statue be removed, citing that it was in violation of a law protecting “cultural” monuments.

A police colonel approached Raffi Hovannisian and an intense verbal exchange pursued. Hovannisian calmly told the police colonel that he would urge his supporters to refrain from such acts in the future.

Hovannisian also asked the police colonel where he and his men were on February 18, the day of the presidential election, to stop the numerous reported cases of election fraud.

Hovannisian’s staff have demanded that the police reveal the identity of the would be assassin and the details of the criminal charges to be filed against him.