April 13, 2004 - 18:11 AMT
POLICE AND INTERNAL FORCES SPECIAL ELEMENTS DISPERSED OPPOSITION ACTION IN YEREVAN LAST NIGHT
Last night the police and special elements of internal forces held a special operation to disperse opposition representatives, who had gathered in Baghramian Avenue demanding resignation of the President. By midnight some 2 thousand people remained in the Avenue, who in the words of the action organizers, "are ready to wait here, until Robert Kocharian leaves." At about the same time the law-enforcement bodies started calling on the demonstrators to "give up illegal actions" and go home. At about 00:30 a.m. illumination was turned off there. Then the policemen removed the barbed wire to free the way to the hydraulic jets, situated there. At about 2 a.m. powerful water streams hit the demonstrators and internal forces elements started dispersing the people by means of rubber battons. Scuffles and fights sprang up. The whole operation did not exceed 30 minutes. There are no victims, however, according to some data, there are injured both among the policemen and the demonstrators. The law enforcement bodies have detained action most active participants, including deputies of the Armenian Parliament Shavarsh Kocharian, Arshak Sadoyan, Aleksan Karapetian, members of the political council of Republic Party Artak Zeynalian and Vagharshak Harutyunian, press secretary of the People's Party Ruzanna Khachatrian. Media representatives also suffered due to the scuffles. Among them are a reporter of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper and a cameraman of the First Russian TV Channel.