Azerbaijan, Baku, 4 March / corr. Trend K. Ramazaniova/ The European Parliament calls on the Armenian government to immediately release all the detained oppositionists.
"I call on Armenian government to immediately release all the detained oppositionists, including Levon Ter- Pertosian and explain the reason why the police and special forces severely punished the demonstrators in Yerevan," Marie Anne Isler Beguin, the head of the European Parliament Committee on Cooperation with Parliaments of South Caucasus Countries said to Trend by email on 4 March.
The President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan declared a state of emergency on 2 March after the opposition demonstration against the falsification of the election outcome flared into confrontation with the police. According to Health Ministry of Armenia on 3 March, the number of injured during the disorders in Yerevan on 1 and 2 March totaled 131 people and eight of them were shot dead.
Marie Anne Isler Beguin is sorry that the Armenian government employed force agaisnt the peaceful demonstrators once again regardless of the numerous statements from the international community.
"The most tragic result of these events is the death of the people and a number of people being injured," the representative of the European Parliament said.
According to Isler Beguin, the European Parliament called on Armenia to investigate violations that took place during voting. "We are very sorry that our demands were ignored," she said.
"Only talks and not using violence can stop the Armenian crisis," Beguin said.
The representative of the European Parliament said that the South Caucasus region is a high risk region and every effort should be made to return Armenia to a democratic experience with the support of the international community.