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Ararat Davtyan

Developments in Armenia After March 1st

The State of Emergency in Yerevan decreed by the President of Armenia ends today. For twenty days public rallies were prohibited and for all intensive purposes there was no working oppositional mass media. The society was forced to listen to the one-sided news of the government and the pro-government media outlets. Widespread arrests of the supporters of former presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan continue unabated.

Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan was recognized the winner of the presidential elections held on February 19, 2008. Second-place winner Levon Ter-Petrosyan, pointing to the registered incidents of blatant ballot fraud, demanded that new elections take place. He and his supporters began a sit-down protest in the Opera Square and for nine straight days held public rallies and marches that drew tens of thousands of participants.

In the early morning of March 1st, the government dispersed the crowd at the Opera by the use of force. The protestors subsequently assembled in the vicinity of the French Embassy. By that time Levon Ter-Petrosyan was effectively under house arrest and could not join the crowd there. That night a confrontation broke up between the demonstrators who numbered in the tens of thousands and law enforcement. According to official statistics eight people were killed as a result - one policeman and 7 civilians.

Those new outlets still in operation, but subject to government monitoring, described the events of that night as an attempt to seize the reins of power by people who resorted to force, destruction, the setting of fires and defiance of the law enforcement officials.

The functioning of an independent or oppositional media was effectively halted. Access to more than a score of Internet websites (A1plus.am, Lragir.am, hzh.am, Zhamanak.com, etc) was blocked as of March 2nd despite the fact that they had accepted the restrictions placed on them.

Even though the State of Emergency only legally covered Yerevan it was effectively being enforced in the Marzes (Regions) of Armenia as well. Due to the intervention of the Regional Governor of Lori, a special edition the “Civilian Initiative” weekly newspaper put out by the Vanadzor office of the Helsinki Civilian Assembly was prevented from being published. The organization also submitted a written request to the Mayor’s Office of Vanadzor to organize a public rally in the town from March 6th - 8th. The request was denied on the grounds that such a rally might endanger the safety and well being of the citizens.

On the same grounds, the Yerevan Municipality had already denied the request of Levon Ter-Petrosyan to hold a public rally on March 21st, a day after the lifting of the State of Emergency. Ter-Petrosyan opined that the authorities merely wish to squash any recurrence of any and all opposition activities. 

On March 17th, the National Assembly passed a series of amendments to the law regarding “ The operation of rallies, public assemblies, marches and demonstrations.” In essence, these amendments effectively prohibit peaceful public rallies from taking place in Armenia.

Under arrest are the leaders of political parties supporting Levon Ter-Petrosyan. These individuals include - Aram Karapetyan, President of the “New Times” party; Suren Surenyan and Smbat Ayvazyan, members of the “Republic Party’s” Political Council; and Petros Makeyan, President of the “Democratic Fatherland” party; among others.

In the days immediately following the February 19th elections they had mainly been charged with organizing unauthorized rallies. After March 1st, however, those arrested faced much more serious criminal charges including fomenting civil unrest resulting in death, the use of force against ROA officials and the usurpation of government power. 

Also taken into custody and charged with the same offenses are Alexandre Arzumanyan, a former ROA Foreign Minister and Director of Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s presidential campaign; Karapet Rubinyan, a former Deputy President of the ROA National Assembly; Yerjanik Abgaryan, a former Chief of the ROA Customs Service; Ararat Zurabyan, President of the Armenian National Movement’s Board of Directors...Many more have gone underground including Nigol Pashinyan, Chief Editor of the “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily newspaper; Aram Sargsyan, President of the Political Council of the “Republic Party”;  among others.

The National Assembly, where members of Serzh Sargsyan’s “Republican Party” hold a majority of seats, has waived immunity for Deputies Hakob Hakobyan, Myasnik Malkhasyan, Sasun Mikayelyan and Khachatur Sukiasyan. All are facing criminal charges. Khachatur Sukiasyan is on the run and being sought by the authorities while the other three have already been taken into custody.

Justice Minister Gevorg Danielyan has stated that, “ Law enforcement is preparing to bring criminal charges against Levon Ter-Petrosyan. Newly-elected President Serzh Sargsyan, during a meeting with university students, noted that, “Rumors regarding the arrest of Levon Ter-Petrosyan are a lie to the extent that the authorities have not yet dared to arrest him.” Ter-Petrosyan believes that, “These arrests are nothing more than political repression.”

According to official reports more than 100 individuals have been arrested as of March 1st. The number of those requested to report to the police exceeds 800 with some being arrested as a result.

Council of Europe Commissioner on Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg, who visited many of these individuals during his recent three-day visit to Armenia, stated that many had indeed been ill treated and beaten.

Despite the clear calls of many foreign governments and international organizations to the contrary, the authorities in Armenia did not lift the State of Emergency before the twenty-day period was up nor did they put a stop to the arrests. Furthermore, those who merely attended the public rallies are now being tracked down.

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