MFA ASTONISHED AT MATTHEW BRYZA’S STATEMENTS
armradio.am
12.03.2008 14:40
Asked by Mediamax agency to comment on Bryza’s statement regarding
the latest developments in Armenia, Tigran Balayan, Head of the Press
Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said:
"We’re astonished that even after his visit to Yerevan, after meeting
with and hearing from various official and unofficial sources,
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza could make such
arbitrary statements.
Assigning such one-sided blame is unfounded and not helpful. The number
of wounded law enforcement officers (108) – 43 of them wounded by
firearms and hand-grenades – clearly demonstrates that rioters were
in possession of firearms and explosives. That coincides with the
operative information of law enforcement agencies which had informed
the public about all this, days before the events of March 1. In
that case, labeling the reaction of the government as "a crackdown
on opposition protests," or qualifying it as "harsh and brutal"
is incorrect. This was not at all an attack by policemen on civilians.
The violence of March 1 is indeed of great concern to all of us in
Armenia, including and foremost, the government, which believes it
is responsible for the maintenance of public order and safety. It
attempted to do so, exercising restraint, but as law enforcement
bodies had earlier cautioned, turned into a clash between officers
and demonstrators. With eight people dead (including one policeman)
and dozens injured (many from law enforcement), there is no doubt that
this was serious violence, and indeed deplorable, as Mr. Bryza says.
Armenia’s challenge, now, 10 days after that disastrous day, is to
fully explore and understand what happened and find ways to move
forward together.
The international community’s focus should be to encourage all involved
to take responsibility for the damage to the fabric of our society
and to look for inclusive ways to move forward.
Ill-informed statements can and do contribute to an escalation of
political tension."
In an interview with the Associated Press, OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair,
US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza had declared that
"the reaction of the authorities to the disorders in the Armenian
capital on March 1st and 2nd was "harsh and brutal."