Ter-Petrosian free to refuse state guarding Armenian president’s press secretary says
05.03.2008,
02:45
The ex-president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosian is free to refuse state guarding, the Press Secretary of Armenia’s President Victor Soghomonian said.
YEREVAN, March 4. /ARKA/. The ex-president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosian is free to refuse state guarding, the Press Secretary of Armenia’s President Victor Soghomonian said.
“The ex-president is a protected person, and a special body – State Guarding Service deals with it. The representatives of this body are recommending strongly that Ter-Petrosian does not leave his house, otherwise they suggest him refusing the state guard and act at his own discretion,” the Press Secretary told a press conference Tuesday.
Now Ter-Petrosian is in his residence where he was conveyed under escort of State Guarding Service Saturday morning, after the opposition rally at the Freedom Square was broken up.
Soghomonian said that this is done not to meet somebody’s wish, but because the law-enforcement bodies are speaking of a possible threat the appearance of Ter-Petrosian in public may pose.
“If he wants to leave home, he can sign a statement about refusing the guard, and assume full responsibility for his own security,” he said.
As to the statements of European officials on necessity to release Ter-Petrosian from custody, they are a result of ignorance of the situation, he said.
“All foreign organizations giving evaluattions should take into account that Ter-Petrosian and his supporters were holding illegal rallies under various slogans for nine consecutive days, but adequate measures were taken only in response to the information that demonstrators are being armed,” Soghomonian said.
Saturday morning the Police of Armenia broke up the rally of the opposition ex-president of Armenia Ter-Petrosian at the Square of Freedom in downtown Yerevan. After that, the demonstrators moved to the French Embassy near the Yerevan Municipality where clashes occurred with the Police and the OMON (emergency platoon).
According to the police report, in the evening the situation became uncontrolled and the crowd started looting the nearby private and state facilities. Eight people were killed and 131 people injured in the clashes.
On March 1 Armenia’s President imposed a state of emergency on Yerevan, effective for 20 days, under item 6 paragraph 14 of Article 55, Armenia’s Constitution (threat to the country’s security and population).–0—
“The ex-president is a protected person, and a special body – State Guarding Service deals with it. The representatives of this body are recommending strongly that Ter-Petrosian does not leave his house, otherwise they suggest him refusing the state guard and act at his own discretion,” the Press Secretary told a press conference Tuesday.
Now Ter-Petrosian is in his residence where he was conveyed under escort of State Guarding Service Saturday morning, after the opposition rally at the Freedom Square was broken up.
Soghomonian said that this is done not to meet somebody’s wish, but because the law-enforcement bodies are speaking of a possible threat the appearance of Ter-Petrosian in public may pose.
“If he wants to leave home, he can sign a statement about refusing the guard, and assume full responsibility for his own security,” he said.
As to the statements of European officials on necessity to release Ter-Petrosian from custody, they are a result of ignorance of the situation, he said.
“All foreign organizations giving evaluattions should take into account that Ter-Petrosian and his supporters were holding illegal rallies under various slogans for nine consecutive days, but adequate measures were taken only in response to the information that demonstrators are being armed,” Soghomonian said.
Saturday morning the Police of Armenia broke up the rally of the opposition ex-president of Armenia Ter-Petrosian at the Square of Freedom in downtown Yerevan. After that, the demonstrators moved to the French Embassy near the Yerevan Municipality where clashes occurred with the Police and the OMON (emergency platoon).
According to the police report, in the evening the situation became uncontrolled and the crowd started looting the nearby private and state facilities. Eight people were killed and 131 people injured in the clashes.
On March 1 Armenia’s President imposed a state of emergency on Yerevan, effective for 20 days, under item 6 paragraph 14 of Article 55, Armenia’s Constitution (threat to the country’s security and population).–0—
