WE WILL NEVER KNOW FULL TRUTH BEHIND MAR. 1 CLASHES: FORMER US CHARGE D’AFFAIRES

epress.am
08.29.2011

In a Apr. 9, 2008 letter to the US State Department, then US Embassy in
Armenia Charge d’Affaires Joseph Pennington described the situation,
the state of emergency, and official (and unofficial) death toll
of those killed in the Mar. 1-2, 2008 clashes in Yerevan between
protestors and law enforcement officials.

“It’s probably safe to say that neither the Armenian public nor
the international community will ever know the full truth behind
the bloody March 1-2 clashes. Regardless of the authorities’ and
opposition’s competing versions of events, their disturbing nature
alone raises concerns about the way the GOAM [Government of Armenian]
responded to the crisis, and how it continues to publicly account –
or not – for the drastic, lethal measures it took.

“Until the authorities provide an independent, transparent explanation
to Armenia’s citizenry describing what really transpired in the dark
hours of March 1-2, the infamy of the events will dog the ruling
regime and risk undermining its legitimacy,” wrote Pennington in the
US cable released by Wikileaks on Aug. 26, 2011, in part.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress