CITIZENS VS. POLICE
00:00, April 10, 2008 | News | Electoral Rights, Freedom of Assembly and Association, Right to Life | Police
On April 9 when the minor center of Yerevan was closed to the citizens because of the ceremony of inauguration, a lot of citizens gathered at the Square of Miasnikyan to honor the memory of the victims of March 1 events because April 9, the day of the inauguration of the president, is forty days from their death.
As always, the police surrounded the statue of Miasnikyan with truncheons and shields. However, the citizens crossed this chain and went up to the pedestal of the statue in small groups, which was surrounded by a tape because it is under repair, and laid flowers and burning candles in memory of the victims of the events of March 1. The number of people increased.
People stood opposite policemen with shields and truncheons and chanted “freedom”, “struggle all the way”, “free and independent Armenia”, “Levon president”. At that time the mother of Tigran Khachatryan, 23, killed on March 1 went up to the statue with the photo of her son, leant over the photo and started crying.
As the number of citizens grew, the number of policemen grew as well. The head of the police of Yerevan Nerses Nazaryan went up to the statue wearing the uniform of general. People whistled and cried “shame on you”. Despite this, Nerses Nazaryan instructed the policemen to stand along the pavements not to let people block the traffic, went up to Davit Shahnazaryan and demanded to stop the action of protest because it is already illegal and disturbs public order.
Davit Shahnazaryan said he is not an organizer and people came because they wanted to come, besides, the actions of the police and the government are illegal. Nerses Nazaryan left but at that time more groups of police arrived at the square, the police blocked the way of pedestrians walking down the streets to the square.
The participants of the action which lasted for about an hour and a half started leaving the square, although the policemen used force when people were already leaving. They arranged to meet in the evening at the Republic Square where at that time the festival “Colorful Sky” will be held and balloons will fly.
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