A series of anti-government riots took place in Armenia following presidential elections held on 19 February 2008. Protests broke out in the Armenian capital Yerevan, organized by supporters of presidential candidate and former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan and other opposition leaders.
The protests began on 20 February, lasted for 10 days in Yerevan's Freedom Square, and involved tens of thousands of demonstrators during the day and hundreds camping out overnight. Despite the urges of the government to stop the demonstrations, the protests continued until 1 March. After nine days of peaceful protests at Freedom Square, the national police and military forces tried to disperse the protesters on 1 March."Report by the Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Thomas Hammarberg, on his special mission to Armenia, 12–15 march 2008", Council of Europe, 20 March 2008. On the morning of 1 March, police and army units dispersed the 700 to 1,000 protesters who remained overnight, beating them with truncheons and electric-shock devices."Armenia: Police Beat Peaceful Protesters in Yerevan" , Human Rights Watch (NY), 2 March 2008.Ter-Petrosyan ‘Under House Arrest,’ Rally Broken Up , Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1 March 2008. As a result, 10 people were killed. As of 4 March, many protesters were still missing."Human Rights Watch Demands Probe Into Armenian Crackdown", Armenia Liberty (RFE/RL), 4 March 2008. On 1 March, Ter-Petrosyan was placed under de facto house arrest."Armenia: At Least 2 Dead in Yerevan Violence, as Kocharian Declares State of Emergency" , Armenia: Vote 2008 (EurasiaNet.org), 1 March 2008.
At noon on 1 March, a crowd of at least 10,000 protesters held a rally in front of the French embassy in Yerevan."Crowd near French Embassy grows to tens of thousands or more" , ArmeniaNow.com, 1 March 2008 (4 pm). Police officers pulled away from the area by 4 pm, as they were overwhelmed by the growing number of demonstrators. Activists then used abandoned police buses to set up barricades. In the evening, clashes broke out between riot police and about 2,000 protesters who barricaded themselves at Miasnikyan Square. At around 10 pm, President Robert Kocharyan, with the approval of the Armenian parliament, declared a 20-day state of emergency, banning future demonstrations and censoring the media from broadcasting any political news except those issued by official state press releases.At Least Eight Killed In Armenian Post-Election Unrest", Armenia Liberty ([RFE/RL]), 2 March 2008. Kocharian justified the decision on the grounds that a minority of demonstrators looted a nearby grocery store on Mashtots Avenue and set fire to a handful of police vehicles and buses Opposition leaders say that the looters had nothing to do with the demonstration, and that they were led by agent provocateurs. With the state of emergency in effect, at around 4:00 on 2 March, Levon Ter-Petrosyan asked the protesters near the French Embassy to go home, thus ending the protests.
The events of 1 March 2008 are simply referred to as Marti mek ( "March First") in Armenia.
Background Levon Ter-Petrosyan was the President of Armenia from 16 October 1991 to 3 February 1998. Ter-Petrosyan was forced to step down in February 1998 for a number of reasons, including allegations of election fraud and generally having lost support in the parliament. He was succeeded by his then Prime Minister Robert Kocharyan. Kocharyan was re-elected for a second term as president on 5 March 2003 amid allegations of electoral fraud. In early 2004 there were demonstrations by opposition-led protestors and calls for Kocharyan's resignation. Kocharyan completed his second term as president in February 2008 and under the Armenian constitution was not eligible for a third term. Kocharyan's Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan had Kocharyan's backing for his candidacy as the next president. Ter-Petrosyan was also a candidate for this election, having announced his candidacy during a speech in Yerevan on 26 October 2007, in which he accused Kocharyan's government of massive corruption involving the theft of "at least three to four billion dollars" over the previous five years.Emil Danielian and Liz Fuller, "Armenian Ex-President Confirms Comeback Plans", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1 November 2007. The election was held on 19 February 2008 and Sargsyan won the election with 53% of the vote, according to official results, with Ter-Petrosyan in second place with 22% of the vote. Under Armenia's electoral law, if neither candidate wins at least 50% of the votes, the top two contenders have to face each other in a second round of the elections. International observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, PACE and the European Parliament had said that "the presidential election in Armenia mostly satisfied the international standards".International observers: Armenian presidential election mostly in accordance with international standards Regnum, 20 February 2008
Timeline The protests began on 20 February; about 25,000 opposition supporters were reportedly present on 21 February. Ter-Petrosyan said that the army would not act against the protesters, claiming to have the support of two deputy defense ministers. An aide to Ter-Petrosyan vowed that the protests would continue "nonstop" and demanded that the government agree to holding a new election by 22 February."Thousands challenge victory of Armenian PM in presidential vote in 2nd day of protests", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 21 February 2008. On 21 February, two members of the Central Election Commission who are representatives of the opposition said that they did not accept the results, and on the next day, Vahan Hovhannisian resigned from his position as deputy speaker of National Assembly of Armenia due to his disapproval of the handling of the election and said that the mechanism of falsifications were put in operation in 1996 by Ter-Petrosyan. Protests continued on 22 February, and Deputy Prosecutor-General Gagik Jhangirian condemned the election, urging the people to act immediately to defend their votes, rather than complaining later about the government's behavior. A spokesperson for Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian asked Kocharyan to dismiss Jhangirian because prosecutors cannot be members of any party or to be involved in politics in any way The Defense Ministry denied Ter-Petrosyan's claim that the two deputy defense ministers had said that they would prevent the army from being used against the protesters, but the veterans' group Yerkrapah disputed this denial."Armenia: Opposition Protests Gain Momentum With High-Ranking Support", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 22 February 2008.
Protests were held without an official permission. Part of the cause for the protest were oppositions claim that there were widespread violations,"Protesters challenge Armenian vote", Associated Press (MiamiHerald.com), 21 February 2008. and the suppression of this belief. Armenian Public Television (H1) has received criticism for failing to show the intense protesting, instead promoting a peaceful aura following the election.
22 February On the third day of the protests, 22 February, the number of protesters was reported as about 30,000. Sarkisyan called the protests "blackmail' and said that if they violated the law, order would be restored through force. The opposition's Alexander Arzoumanian, however, said that the government did not have the courage to attempt to break up the protests. On 23 February, the number of protesters was reported as about 50,000. Kocharyan accused the opposition of trying to seize power and warned that the government would act to preserve order. Meanwhile, the police released a statement saying that they were "prepared to resolutely respond to any attempts to disturb public order and destabilize the situation, prevent extremist manifestations, and protect people's constitutional rights". The statement denied the rumored resignation of police chief Hayk Harutyunyan."Armenian police ready to respond to attempts to disturb public order – statement" , Interfax, 23 February 2008.
23 February Jhangirian was dismissed as Deputy Prosecutor-General by Kocharyan on 23 February and detained later that day."Gagik Jahangiryan dismissed from post of deputy prosecutor general", PanARMENIAN.Net, 23 February 2008. On 27 February Gagik Jahangiryan was arrested and accused of violating the article 235.1 of the Armenia Penal Code (illegal purchase, traffic and storage of weapons, explosive assemblies) and article 316.1 (application of force against a public agent)."Former deputy prosecutor general accused of illegal storage of weapons and violence against public agent" PanARMENIAN.Net, 27 February 2008
25 February
25 February saw steady numbers of protesters at Opera Square during the day, estimated at 40,000–50,000. Ter-Petrosyan made several appearances, and in each called for a peaceful rally, frequently alluding to the late-1980s when the Karabakh Committee was arrested by the Soviets. Ter-Petrosyan said that he does not fear arrest nor assassination, and that if the ruling party had him killed, it would only accelerate its own demise. Also on 25 February, Sarkis Hatspanian, a diasporan Armenian from France, spoke twice, and alluded to the participation of Armenians in revolutionary movements in France and Germany, and how the turn has come for Armenia. Around 10–15,000 people continued to participate in the rally well into midnight, some staying overnight in tents.
26 February On 26 February, there were widespread reports that high school administrators had been directed by the ruling party to have their students participate in a pro-Sargsyan rally held in Republic Square. Many e-mail services had been blocked since the morning of 26 February, including Hotmail, Gmail, and thick-client email programs using the IMAP protocol.
Several prominent supporters of Ter-Petrosyan were arrested on 26 February. On that day competing rallies were held, with Sargysan's supporters reported to number up to 100,000. Ter-Petrosyan claimed that the numbers attending his rally had doubled because people were leaving Sargysan's rally to come to his. Meanwhile, the National Security Service said that it had prevented an opposition plot to seize a television broadcasting tower in Yerevan; it said that the purpose of this alleged plot, for which several people were arrested, was to enable Ter-Petrosyan to make a live broadcast. An opposition spokesman dismissed this as "psychological pressure". Also on 26 February, Kocharyan suggested that his government's patience with the protests had "a limit" and urged people to "come to their senses"."Armenian police detain more activists as gov't, opposition supporters hold dueling rallies", Associated Press (International Herald Tribune), 26 February 2008.
27 February