Opposition Protests, State of Emergency Declared

Word had been circulating for some time that not only was post-election unrest inevitable, but that the outcome of the 19 February presidential election would be decided on the streets. For those of us who had been expecting such a turn of events, the only question was when. Last weekend, for example, foreign journalists had speculated that a crackdown on the illegal occupation of Yerevan’s Liberty Square by supporters of the former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, would come after they and other Western officials left the country.

As it happened, they left at the beginning of the week and the clashes started yesterday morning. Perhaps many of us were instead surprised that it took so long for the authorities to act, and for a while it appeared as if almost daily warnings to a few thousand camped overnight outside the Opera were meaningless. Now we know they weren’t. Moreover, the dispersal instead resulted in what most of us feared for months — a huge showdown between Ter-Petrossian’s supporters and security forces.

RFE/RL reports that our fears were well founded.

Thousands of angry opposition supporters again gathered in Yerevan and clashed with police on Saturday as their leader, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, pledged to continue to challenge the official results of Armenia’s presidential election.

The rally broke out spontaneously on a street in downtown Yerevan just hours after security forces broke up a non-stop vigil kept by Ter-Petrosian supporters in the city’s Liberty Square. Hundreds of riot police and interior troops, backed by water cannons, were rushed to the street outside the French Embassy to try to disperse the crowd. The protesters chanting “Freedom!” and “Levon!” confronted them with sticks and stones.

[…]

Many of the protesters appeared to have participated in the overnight vigil in the square. Some bore traces of violence on their heads and faces. Ter-Petrosian aides hundreds of people were injured during the break-up of the non-stop protest.

On my way to yesterday’s protest near the French Embassy it was obvious that the night was going to end in bloodshed. On Republic Square riot police guarded outside the main government building and men in plain clothes were unloading automatic weapons from cars. At the protest itself a police vehicle burned in the distance while public transport and smashed up vehicles had been used to barricade roads leading to where as many as 10,000 protesters had gathered.

Ter-Petrossian was effectively put under house arrest although the authorities deny that this is the case, and for a while it seemed as though a march on his home would be arranged if the authorities did not allow him to leave. As it was, however, the protesters instead decided to prepare for what now appears to be their last stand. Metal rods were scavenged from nearby construction sites and some even had shields taken earlier in the day off riot police.

A PA system was hastily assembled to address those gathered and share information. Contrary to earlier reports, for example, most of the main leaders other than Ter-Petrossian had not been arrested or in hiding. Reports that one person had earlier been killed were thankfully not true, Nikol Pashinian stated. It was an impressive example of breaking an information blockade in such a situation.

The outspoken newspaper editor and Ter-Petrossian backer took control and toured the barricades checking that each was secure and pointing out any weak spots to those manning the defenses. Later, concrete slabs were ripped up from the streets to not only reinforce the barricades, but also to use as makeshift weapons against a far more formidable and well-equipped police force and army. Basically, they didn’t stand a chance.

Last night, at least eight died according to official government sources and as reported by RFE/RL. A state of emergency that will last 20 days is now in place.

The Armenian police reported the death toll, citing information received from the Ministry of Health. A police statement issued early in the morning did not identify any of the victims, suggesting that all of them were protesters. The statement said Armenia’s Office of the Prosecutor-General is investigating the circumstances of their deaths. It added that 33 police officers and interior troops were hospitalized from the scene of the opposition protest with various injuries.

The standoff ended at around 4 a.m. local time after the top opposition leader, Levon Ter-Petrosian, urged his supporters to go home, citing the state of emergency imposed by Kocharian. “I do not want any victims and clashes between police and innocent people. That is why I am asking you to leave,” Ter-Petrosian said in a message read out to more than 2,000 people that barricaded themselves outside the Yerevan mayor’s office.

According to Reuters news agency, most of the crowd headed away from the square but a group of around 60 people refused to go home and set fire to abandoned police vehicles. Some of them accused the former Armenian president of being a traitor. Gunshots in downtown Yerevan could be heard after that.

Ter-Petrossian has apparently vowed to continue with attempts to overturn the final results of the 19 February presidential election although it’s hard to imagine how after such chaos on the streets. On the other hand, such events have an uncanny habit of backfiring on governments especially when they happen at times of elections. To be honest, though, few believe that Ter-Petrossian will succeed, but it would be wrong to prematurely conclude that he won’t.

As always, the situation remains unpredictable and only after the Constitutional Court makes its ruling will things be clearer. Indeed, one suspects that all efforts are now directed towards the court, but for now at least, the government appears to have the upper and somewhat bloody hand. Of course, there are many people who suspect that this ultimate showdown was also anticipated by Ter-Petrossian, but rather than the police and military refuse to obey orders, it turned out that the presidency is as strong as it has ever been.

The state of emergency, which also restricts the internal dissemination of information relating to the political situation in the country, is also another obstacle that Ter-Petrossian will find hard to circumvent. Already there are reports, for example, that access to the opposition A1 Plus web site has been blocked inside Armenia, and true enough, I can’t access it. Meanwhile, attempts to stage protests in the country’s second largest city of Gyumri appear to only have attracted a few thousand people and some of the organizers reportedly detained.

Even though the state of emergency only applies to Yerevan, as it happens the country appears to be firmly under the control of the incumbent authorities despite Ter-Petrossian’s constant assurances that this wasn’t the case. Last night was an example of that fact although few of his supporters appear to realize that yet. Still, in countries such as Armenia almost anything can happen. It just remains to be seen if it will.

Photos: © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008