OSCE SENDS MEDIATOR AFTER VIOLENT PROTESTS IN ARMENIA
Agence France Presse
March 2, 2008 Sunday
The OSCE said Sunday it had sent a mediator to Armenia, where eight
people have been killed in protests against the alleged rigging of
a presidential election, and appealed for both sides to show restraint.
Finnish diplomat Heikki Talvitie was to arrive in the Armenian capital
on Sunday, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
presidency said in a statement.
"I have sent my special envoy to try to bring both sides to the
negotiating table and to find a way out of this crisis through
political dialogue," Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva said in
the statement. Finland currently holds the OSCE presidency.
"The OSCE considers dialogue central to stability, and stability
is vital in the South Caucasus. Everything should be done to avoid
further casualties and any further escalation of tension."
Tanks and troops patrolled the Armenian capital Yerevan on Sunday
after authorities imposed a state of emergency following clashes
between riot police and protesters that also left 33 police injured.
The violence began early Saturday when riot police cleared a
central square where protestors had been camped since a February 19
presidential election won by Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian.
The runner-up, opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian, said he had
been placed under house arrest, although the government denied this.
Observers from the OSCE, Europe’s top election monitoring body,
said earlier that the election "mostly" met international standards.
However, the opposition claimed major fraud in the poll count and
accused Sarkisian of using state resources to promote his candidacy,
while activists campaigning for Ter-Petrosian across the country were
beaten up.