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Unrest spreads in Armenia; opposition figures detained

Armenia Materials 25 February 2008 15:27 (UTC +04:00)

( HeraldTribune ) - The Armenian authorities detained top opposition figures on Sunday while thousands of protesters chanted calls for a rerun of a presidential election that they said was rigged.

The opposition in the Caucasus Mountains country has mounted protests for five days to demand the annulment of the results of last Tuesday's presidential election in which Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan beat his nearest rival, Levon Ter-Petrosian.

Prominent opposition figures were detained on Saturday and Sunday. Those held included the leader of one political party and a former deputy prosecutor-general who backed the protests.

"This confirms the authorities will use force," said Mikail Daelyan, an opposition activist.

Western election monitors have said that the ballot was broadly in line with the country's international commitments but that further improvements were necessary. Ter-Petrosian's supporters say there was ballot stuffing and intimidation. Armenia, a nation of 3.2 million, lies in a region emerging as a key route for pumping Caspian Sea oil and gas to world markets, though Armenia has no pipelines of its own.

Armenia's electoral commission confirmed that Sargsyan, an ally of President Robert Kocharian, won nearly 53 percent of the vote to Ter-Petrosian's 21.5 percent. Ter-Petrosian told protesters in Yerevan he should have been declared the true victor. "This election was barbaric," he said.

Ter-Petrosian said the protests were gaining momentum, pointing to fresh support from six senior Armenian diplomats. He also announced he would appeal the election results to the Constitutional Court on Monday, the Arminfo news agency reported.

The rally lasted for more than five hours and was attended by around 20,000 people; 35,000 turned out Saturday. Security services said the opposition figures arrested included Aram Karapetian, the leader of the New Times party, who had backed Ter-Petrosian's campaign.

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