Mediators Struggle to Fix Armenia Crisis
There is little sign either the government or its opponents are prepared to give an inch as the standoff continues.
Mediators Struggle to Fix Armenia Crisis
There is little sign either the government or its opponents are prepared to give an inch as the standoff continues.
The Armenian capital Yerevan has been under a state of emergency accompanied by severe restrictions on media reporting since a day of violence when security forces clashed with opposition protesters. The demonstrators were demanding a rerun of the February 19 presidential election, which opposition candidate and ex-president Levon Ter-Petrosian lost to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. (See Armenia’s Bloody Saturday, CRS No. 434, 03-Mar-08.)
The authorities have denied rumours that large numbers of people were killed on March 1. The prosecutor general, Aghvan Hovsepian, has confirmed that as originally reported, eight people died in the clashes, one of them a policeman. Another 176 members of the security forces and 41 civilians were injured, according to officials.
Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie was in Yerevan on March 4, dispatched there hastily by the OSCE.
“We are trying to convince the Armenian authorities to curtail the [20-day] term of the state of emergency,” said Talvitie at a press conference in Yerevan. “The only thing we can do is assume responsibility; so many people have died. Now the most important thing is to try taking the path of finding a political solution.”
Talvitie has called for an inclusive political dialogue, saying this was impossible as long as the state of emergency declared by outgoing president Robert Kocharian was in force.
The European Union’s special envoy to the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, held meetings with Kocharian, president-elect Sarkisian and Ter-Petrosian in Yerevan to discuss ways of resolving the most serious political crisis Armenia has seen in nearly a decade.
Kocharian’s press spokesman Viktor Soghomonian has insisted there would be no dialogue with Ter-Petrosian.
“How can we have dialogue with those who are directly responsible for these events?” he asked.
The government says Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters deliberately provoked the confrontation which led to running street battles throughout March 1. The opposition insists it was engaged in a lawful, peaceful demonstration when the police waded in without provocation and using excessive force.
At a March 5 press conference, Kocharian warned that the protest organisers would be brought to book.
“Everyone must get the punishment they’ve earned for their activities, their just deserts. Above all, there must be punishment for the organisers whose activities led to a situation where the rally went out of control and [the crowd] became a mob,” he said. “Throughout history, no one has succeeded in controlling a crowd. When you assemble people, you have to assume responsibility for them – and for the consequences.”
So far, 27 people have been arrested and charged with mass riot, using violence against representatives of the authorities, and attempting to usurp the power of the state. Police are said to be looking for many more. A prosecution service spokesman said the names of those under investigation were not being released yet.
On March 4, the Armenian parliament gave the green light for four of its members – normally protected by an immunity clause - to be arrested and face criminal charges. The four are Hakob Hakobian, Myasnik Malkhasian, Sasun Mikaelian and Khachatur Sukiasian.
The opposition Heritage party faction in parliament said the investigations launched against the deputies amounted to political retaliation and were being conducted in a biased, unfair, and unlawful manner.
A statement released by the faction said, “The legal defence [counsel] of many of the accused have not been allowed to see their clients. We are deeply concerned about the physical and mental state of those arrested, the reason being that several of them were subjected to various types of abuse.”
As the government focuses on placing the blame on the opposition and arresting those it holds responsible for the violence, Ter-Petrosian is insisting the authorities roll back all the restrictions they have imposed.
Citing an EU statement disseminated on March 4, he said its recommendations should form the basis of an action plan. Specifically, he said, the government must “end the state of emergency, release the people detained, lift restrictions on news reporting and implement an international and fair investigation into the March 1 events. ”
At this point, it is hard to see either side shifting from its entrenched position.
Alexander Iskandarian, a political analyst and director of the Caucasus Media Institute, explained that Ter-Petrosyan presents the Kocharian/Sarkisian administration with something of a problem.
“While they were able to make offers to other opposition members and presidential candidates, as in the case of Arthur Baghdasarian, who accepted [post as secretary of the National Security Council] – there’s nothing they can offer Ter-Petrosian,” said Iskandarian. “He was the only candidate who was really competing for the presidency with Sarkisian; he put everything on the line. He acted in such a way that he cannot become a minister, prime minister or get some other position. Kocharian cannot possibly offer him the presidency, nor can he suggest anything else because he wouldn’t agree to take a job, say, as provincial governor or something of the sort.”
Where does that leave the international calls for dialogue and compromise? According to Iskandarian, the would-be mediators are trying to engage with disputing sides which have nothing to say to each other.
“There are certainly lots of questions about who’s to blame for what has happened. But the main question is whether Levon Ter-Petrosian continues his political struggle or not,” he said. “Apparently they’re seeking some options for reaching an agreement. They’re right - one should always try to do that. But I’m very pessimistic; I don’t really believe Levon Ter-Petrosian could find some place within the structure of the current authorities. I can’t imagine that happening.”
For the moment, the opposition leader is busy pressing his case that the presidential election should be annulled on the grounds that the vote was subject to serious procedural violations.
The Constitutional Court began hearings on March 4 on appeals brought by Ter-Petrosian and another candidate, Tigran Karapetian. Ter-Petrosian arrived at the court the following day, after some uncertainty about whether he was under house arrest and would therefore be prevented from attending.
In a statement before judges, he said Sarkisian should never have been allowed to run in the first place as he failed to step down from the post of prime minister during the election campaign. He also said the arrests of potential witnesses in recent days could prejudice the Constitutional Court hearing into his appeal.
By law, the court must rule on the matter by March 8.
Meanwhile, domestic reporting on the crisis remains curtailed by the restrictions imposed after the violence. The emergency legislation requires media outlets to cite only official sources on domestic political matters. Seven leading newspapers, some independent and others linked with the opposition, refused to operate under such conditions and suspended publication. Local rebroadcasting of the Armenian-language service of external broadcaster RFE/RL was suspended, and it reports that its website has been blocked.
By contrast, all the major Armenian TV and radio stations seen as favouring the authorities remain on air. Their news coverage has been reduced to reproducing government press releases, press conferences and police reports.
“We’re alarmed by this blatant attempt to censor news of the disputed election,” said a statement from Joel Simon, executive director of the United States-based watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists. “We call on Armenian authorities to withdraw the ban on independent newsgathering and dissemination, and restore access to independent and opposition media.”
EU envoy Semneby also called for the media restrictions to end.
“We hope that full media freedoms will be restored soon and that the state of emergency can be lifted,” Semneby told RFE/RL on March 4. “It goes without saying that a dialogue involving society in broader terms cannot take place without the active and extremely important role of the media.”
