The police of the Republic of Armenia, in thoroughly appraising the tendencies in the public meetings that have been conducted on Freedom square in recent days and a number of illegal actions carried out or planned in the context of those meetings, has repeatedly emphasized the necessity of observing the provisions provided by the RA Constitution, international obligations and the laws "On freedom of assemblies" and "On Police." They indicated that the observance of those laws by the organizers and participants of those assemblies would have made the undesirable developments of April 9 avoidable.

The incidents of April 9 proved the sufficiency of the forecasts and caution of the RA police, while  revealing the consequences that a needless testing of the ability and will of the Police to hold offenders legally, especially administratively liable, could have.

The police of the Republic of Armenia state with deep regret that the behavior of citizens who flagrantly violated the peaceful course of the assembly and thus became uncontrollable even for the organizers of the assembly, made the Police use force against the offenders, who were immediately isolated from the venue of the assembly and were administratively liable. The assembly then regained its peaceful nature and the participants were granted the chance to return to the main venue, namely Freedom square.

The police of the Republic of Armenia made all possible efforts to prevent the irresponsible conduct of separate assembly participants from leading to more grievous consequences and limiting the complete  civil rights of other assembly participants who had peaceful intentions.  

The officers of the RA Police efficiently carried out the main duties vested to them by law, averting the danger of escalation and other negative consequences.

The police of the Republic of Armenia finds it necessary to mention that those who infringed on the law during the march were not arrested but rather isolated from the venue of the assembly, then detained before being set free a bit later.

As for the appraisals of certain incidents that are being given or will be given, the RA police announces that all circumstances of the incidents shall be thouroughly examined and the public will be provided with more detailed information on the factual and legal circumstances of the incidents.

However, the police of the Republic of Armenia finds it necessary to touch upon certain reactions concerning the alleged use of brute force or disproportionate undertakings by police officers.
It is the duty of the RA police to reiterate that the two limitations were determined by the decision of the Yerevan municipality, the body authorized to determine the march routes. An alternate route had been suggested to accomodate the ceremonial events planned on the occasion of the presidential inauguration, including the participation of foreign guests, among them high ranking diplomats. Moreover the Police of the Republic of Armenia had warned beforehand that it was going to strictly adhere to the limitations determined by the Mayor’s decision.

The provisions of the current laws and administrative acts should be observed strictly. Disobeying them  is considered to be an infringement of law. At the same time the administrative acts imposed by the police can't be qualified as a limitation of the right to peaceful assemblies, as the administrative acts limited the conduct of assemblies at certain locations, excluding consideration of those venues as venues of assemblies, and the right for freedom of assemblies in no way protects the right to illegally enter the the forbidden venue of assembly. The police in no way intervened during the course of the marches, which were conducted on the places that had been suggested by the municipality and exclusively ensured the safety of the persons arriving at the residence of the RA president along Baghramyan avenue.

However, it is impossible to imagine that clieving the rampart of the policemen by force could remain without any response and the police could give up fulfilling its duties of ensuring the normal course of the events. As for the sufficiency of the Mayor’s decision, and the ensuring of the freedom of assembly and just balance of public interests, this issue is subject to clarification in court and not on the streets.

The police of the Republic of Armenia announces that the statements of separate representatives of our society concerning the disproportionate undertakings of the police officers, to put it mildly, are quite hasty and unreasonable. The RA police will appraise the legality of the incidents for each case and will leave its appraisals to the public’s judgement. It should be taken into consideration that evaluating the principle of proportionality is not the problem of non-professional or incompetent personalities, but those of specialists. The discussion of this complicated issue demands a whole and objective examination of individual circumstances of the case, appraisal of various factors, including the nature of the limitation and its volume, the importance of the aim pursued and the reasons for intervention. The emotional solutions and appraisals of the issues that demand legal appraisal are inadmissible and inadequate. Therefore, the police of the Republic of Armenia will welcome any step to touch upon that issue or discuss it in a legal context.