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March 1 Report a ‘Surprise’ for the New Year: Opinion

The entire law enforcement system in Armenia was annihilated by the report on the events of Mar. 1–2, 2008, published by Armenia’s Special Investigative Service on Dec. 26, Armenian National Congress representative, Mar. 1 fact-finding group member Andranik Kocharyan told Epress.am earlier today. Recall, national police and military forces, called in to disperse protests following the presidential election, used “excessive force and violence” which left 10 people dead and many more wounded.

“In four years, how can you present clearly solvable murders as cases not subject to being solved? And at the same time, with this report, they viewed those killed as criminals and not as victims. While the murderers continue to be found in the respective structures and do not bear any punishment. In fact, this is what the report was about,” he said.

Weighing in on the the investigation — now the second — into the circumstances surrounding the events of Mar. 1–2, Kocharyan said simply time was bought so that “on the brink of the new year, they give our people a ‘surprise’.”

“And they didn’t choose the timing by accident, so that it won’t be possible for any reaction to be followed up on. This is aimed at European structures, so that they [can] say, this is it, demand nothing more from us, be satisfied with this. I think that no one will be satisfied with this; this won’t please anyone; and our public, just as it consistently fought for obliging that the circumstances surrounding Mar. 1 be disclosed, will continue to fight until these crimes, these murders are solved,” he said.