Government Response
The President Elect Sargsian, during his meeting with EU special envoy for the South Caucasus Peter Semneby, said "We are ready to cooperate with all those who wants Armenia to develop, its citizens to prosper, the country to be stable and strong, and we are ready for an open, straightforward and honest discussion". He also said that "those who incited recent riots had committed a crime and should be punished". The Incumbent President Kocharian said that "Armenian authorities were seeking to normalise the situation as soon as possible and restore stability".
Government officials have portrayed the events of March 1 purely as an attempted coup by the opposition. At least 97 Ter-Petrosyan supporters have been jailed by authorities since the election, and have been charged with organizing “mass riots” and attempting to overthrow the government. The government-controlled National Assembly stripped four deputies allied to Ter-Petrosyan of their legal immunity from prosecution.
On March 3, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia, Armen Harutyunyan, issued a report critical of President Kocharyan's order of force.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Armenian Presidential Election Protests
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