Blogrel has a number of posts, too.
France calls for end to state of emergency in Armenia
AFP: France called today, Monday, for the “rapid lifting” of the state of emergency in Armenia, the “release of people who have been arrested” and the launch of political dialogue to end the violence that left eight people dead in Yerevan at the weekend.
“We ask for a rapid lifting of the state of emergency and the release of the people who have been arrested,” said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Pascale Andreani.“The violence and attacks on individual freedoms must stop,” she stressed, asking “the authorities and all Armenia’s political forces to launch a political dialogue to promote a democratic process that will enable a lasting return to stability in the country”.
Moscow regrets recent developments in Armenia
Itar-Tass: Moscow has met with regret the reports about the recent developments in the capital of the friendly Republic of Armenia, which led to the loss of life, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
“We express heartfelt condolences to all those who lost their relatives,” he added. “We hope that the measures, taken by the Armenian leaders, will bring about the settlement of the domestic political situation through a peaceful dialogue of the authorities with all the public forces in the interests of ensuring the security of the Armenian people and the stable development of the country,” the Russian diplomat stressed.Who is Going To Help Armenia?
Vakit calls on the Government, NGOs, and the Turkish public in general not to remain uninterested in the ongoing internal
conflict in Armenia and urges the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission to send observers to Yerivan to help find a
peaceful solution to the unrest in Armenia.Azeri president comments on situation in Armenia
Turan: The extremely tense situation in Armenia is a result of an ill-conceived policy of this country’s government,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said, addressing residents of the city of Naftalan in western Azerbaijan.
He believes that the current situation is a logical result of wrong and aggressive policy of Armenia, which has isolated itself from the rest of the region and lacks normal development. The stability is connected with the development and vice versa, Aliyev said.Two Armenian MPs arrested after unrest
Two pro-opposition Armenian lawmakers have been arrested for allegedly attempting a coup d’etat following violent clashes in the ex-Soviet country that left eight dead, police said Monday. Deputy Miasnik Malkhasian was arrested for “attempting to seize
power,” the press service of the Armenian police told AFP. A source in the security services said that deputy Hakob Hokopian was arrested on the same charge. The two were arrested overnight Sunday, police said.
The opposition immediately denounced the arrests. “This is a new step in the violence the authorities are using against the opposition to deprive it of its leadership,” said Arman Musinian, a spokesman for opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian.Georgian opposition party condemns violence in Armenia
Georgian (opposition) Republican Party has disseminated a statement regarding the current events in Armenia. The party has called on the Armenian government to immediately cease violence against its own people.
Armenian president-elect raps opposition
Mediamax: The Armenian prime minister and president-elect, Serzh Sargsyan, has addressed the nation, saying that organizers of the disturbances in Yerevan “will answer before laws, history and generations”. “As a result of the latest events, our nation have suffered heavy and irreplaceable losses - there are victims from both the police, who were performing their service duty, and among protesters, who fell under influence of a group of people. Hundreds of people suffered following illegal actions of the radical opposition,” Serzh Sargsyan said.”Today, I share grief of all you,” the president-elect said in his address.
Situation in Yerevan fully under control
(Itar-Tass) - The authorities have fully resumed control over the situation in Armenian capital Yerevan after mass riots triggered by the radical opposition on Saturday and overnight to Sunday, the press service of the city police told Tass on Monday. A state of emergency is in place in the capital.
( The Tone of news is very interesting)State of Emergency Restricts Civil Liberties and Free Press in Armenia
Earlier Today I posted about Human rights watch statement on the recent incidents in Armenia,here is the full statement.
UN human rights chief concerned about post-election protests in Armenia
Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a statement in which she said she was particularly concerned that force was used against peaceful demonstrators yesterday and that opposition protesters have been detained.
Ter Petrossian: Protests may move outside Yerevan
Levon Ter-Petrosian said on Sunday the opposition may now seek to organise protests outside the capital, where emergency rule is not in effect. “We might organise demonstrations in other cities not far away from Yerevan, it would be legal,” he told reporters in his home.
Ter-Petrosian blamed authorities for provoking the unrest and criticised foreign observers for backing the elections. “Until the attack in front of the opera everything was peaceful … But if you had been hit on the head there, at the next demonstration you would grab a rod to defend yourself. “I hope the international community understands that the regime in Armenia does not have the support of the people. This conflict will now last five years, with full-time violence.”“Severe response” for new protests in Armenia
AFP: Army chief of staff Seiran Oganian warned in televised comments that fresh protests would be met with “a severe response.”
meanwhile The city was relatively calm on Sunday and shops and cafes around Yerevan were open as residents examined the damage. Dozens of burnt-out cars, stones and metal poles from the night of violence were cleared from the streets.
Council of Europe calls on Armenia to justify state of Emergency
AFP: The head of the Council of Europe on Sunday called on Armenia’s government to justify its state of emergency declaration amid violent protests that have left eight dead.
The secretary general of the democracy and rights watchdog, Terry Davis, said the government was required under the European Convention on Human Rights to “inform me of the measures it has taken and the reasons” for it.
“I expect that they will do so without any delay,” Davis said in a statement issued by the institution, which has 47 member countries including Armenia since 2001.
He also said the government should “review the justification for the restrictions imposed especially on media, political parties and non-governmental organisations.”Georgian NGOs rally in protest of Violence in Armenia
BBC Monitoring: Representatives of the Armenian community of Georgia and the Georgian nongovernmental sector have
condemned the violent dispersal of peaceful protests in Yerevan. They held a protest rally today outside the Armenian embassy in Tbilisi, where they signed a joint statement which they later gave to the staff of the embassy. The statement urges the EU and OSCE to pay more attention to the situation in Armenia.Nino Tsikhistavi, head of the Women’s Network of the Caucasus said:” We, representatives of nongovernmental organizations and representatives of the Armenian diaspora, have gathered here in order to firmly express our solidarity with the Armenian public and the Armenian people. We understand very well what kind of unrest has broken out there. We believe the measures used by the Armenian authorities are absolutely unacceptable.
Saakashvili supports Kocharian
Arminfo: Armenian President Robert Kocharyan today had a telephone conversation with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. The president’s press secretary, Viktor Sogomonyan, has told that the Georgian president asked for information
about the situation in Armenia following yesterday’s riots by opposition supporters. “The Georgian president expressed his support for the people and authorities of Armenia,” Viktor Sogomonyan said.OSCE envoy to meet Levon Ter-Petrosyan
Europe’s human rights and security watchdog sent a special envoy to Armenia on Sunday in a bid to end the country’s worst unrest in a decade. “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,” the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) chairman, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva, said in a statement.
The envoy, 68-year old diplomat Heikki Talvitie, is scheduled to arrive in Yerevan on Sunday. OSCE chairman Kanerva condemned the use of force against demonstrators and called for restraint. “I urge the authorities to release those detained, and I again call on the government and the opposition to engage in dialogue”, he said. “Everything should be done to avoid further casualties and any further escalation of tension.” Talvitie intends to meet outgoing President Robert Kocharyan, outgoing Prime Minister and president-elect Serzh Sarksyan, Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan and opposition leader
Levon Ter-Petrosyan.Armenian authorities to sue organizers of Yerevan
Itar-Tass: Armenian authorities are determined to prosecute the organizers of the Yerevan disturbances, head of the presidential office Armen Gevorkian said on Sunday.
Gevorkian told the diplomats about the Yerevan situation and explained reasons for the current state of emergency. He said authorities had taken legitimate measures to restore law and order.Human Rights Watch:Police in Armenia used excessive force
U.S.-based group Human Rights Watch said police used excessive force at the demonstrations, detaining groups of protesters and beating them. “Armenian special police forces violently dispersed a rally … Dozens are reported to have sustained severe injuries and more than 100 protesters were arrested,” it said on Sunday.
United States urged Armenians to start talking
The United States urged Armenia’s warring political forces to start talking after a night of rioting in which eight people were killed and dozens more injured.
The State Department called on all sides “to avoid further violence, act fully within the law, exercise maximum restraint and resume political dialogue”, according to a statement posted on its Web site www.state.gov.
The United States is home to a sizeable Armenian community and is also concerned about disturbances in a region which is
emerging as a key transit area for oil and gas supplies from the Caspian Sea to Western markets.OSCE sends mediator after violent protests in Armenia
AFP: The OSCE said Sunday it had sent a mediator to Armenia, where eight people have been killed in protests against the alleged rigging of a presidential election, and appealed for both sides to show restraint.
Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie was to arrive in the Armenian capital on Sunday, the Organisation for Security and ooperation in Europe presidency said in a statement. “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,” Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva said in the statement. Finland currently holds the OSCE presidency.
No comments:
Post a Comment