Reuters
Feb. 26, 2008
Patience running out with protests-Armenian leader
Tue Feb 26, 2008 10:54am EST
YEREVAN, Feb 26 (Reuters) – Armenian President Robert Kocharyan
warned protesters on Tuesday that his patience was wearing thin with
their seven-day demonstration against a presidential election they
say was rigged.
Supporters of opposition leader Levan Ter-Petrosyan gathered in their
tens of thousands in the Armenian capital for a seventh consecutive
day of protests since a Feb. 19 election.
Kocharyan’s ally Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan won the election —
which Western monitors described as flawed but broadly in line with
Armenia’s international commitments — with 53 percent of the vote
compared with Ter-Petrosyan’s 21.5.
"Patience has to have a limit. How many more days will this
continue?" Kocharyan asked. "I think its time for people to calm
down," he told Armenian television.
Sarksyan’s supporters also rallied in their thousands about 1 km (0.6
miles) from Ter-Petrosyan’s rally. (Reporting by Hasmik Lazarian,
writing by James Kilner; Editing by Elizabeth Piper)