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Timeline of unrest April 13th - At 2:00 in the morning, police wielding rubber truncheons attacked peaceful demonstrators. Dozens were taken to the hospital with injuries. So far, there are no accurate figures as to the number of victims. Many are reluctant to seek medical attention, fearing reprisals by the police. Parliament delegates Arshak Zadoyan, Alexan Karapetyan, and Shavarsh Kocharyan were arrested, as were Republic Party member and former defense minister Vagharshak Harutiunyan, and Artak Zeynalyan. At 1:00 a.m , police surrounded the headquarters of the People's Party of Armenia , where a press conference was being held by Stepan Demirchyan and Vasgen Manukyan. Dozens of journalists came outside and began taking photographs. The police gradually drifted away.
April 12th - Protestors marched toward the Presidential Palace. Baghramyan Avenue was sealed off with razor wire and water cannons near the Parliament Building . A vehicle with a loud speaker was parked near the barricade. The rally continued there. Opposition delegates Victor Dallakyan, Grigor Harutiunyan, Smbat Aivazyan and Gagik Kostandyan attempted to enter the Parliament to meet with Speaker of Parliament Artur Baghdasaryan. They were prevented by the police from entering the building. The three parties forming the government coalition, the Republican Party, the ARF, and Orinats Yerkir, issued a joint statement according to which they boycotted the three-day session of the parliament to be convened that day. April 11th - Protestors continued their sit-in in Freedom Square. The arrests continued as well.
April 10th - Thousands of protestors attended a rally in Freedom Square. A march to the Presidential Palace was announced for Monday, April 12 th. According to official sources, 51 people had been taken in to police stations since April 9 th, 31 of them held for 2 to 6 days for administrative violations. According to the opposition, more than 250 people had been arrested. April 9th - The Justice Bloc and the National Unity Party held an unsanctioned joint rally in Freedom Square . At the rally, a decision was made to stage an open-ended sit-in until Robert Kocharyan resigned. Following the rally, arrests of protestors began. People were held for various periods charged with administrative violations. Several hundred people spent the night in Freedom Square .
April 8th - All highways to Yerevan were closed leading up to the opposition rally. The authorities did what they could to prevent people from the regions from participating in the rally organized by the Justice Bloc and the National Unity Party. April 7th - The unified opposition issued a joint statement which reads in part: "Neither violence nor open threats by Robert Kocharyan and his lackeys can halt the wave of popular resistance aimed at the establishment of legal authorities in Armenia, which will intensify after the rally to be held in Yerevan on April 9 th . The whole responsibility for violence and consequences of provocation will rest with Robert Kocharyan and those who carry out his unlawful orders." The leaders of the Justice Bloc refused to go to the Prosecutors Office. They had been summoned as witnesses in connection with the criminal case instituted on March 30 th . April 5th - The bodyguards of oligarchs committed violence against journalists during a rally organized by the National Unity Party April 4th - Suren Sureniants, a member of the political council of the Hanrapetutiun (Republic) Party was arrested. March 30th - The Armenian Prosecutor General brought criminal charges against members of the Justice Bloc and "persons affiliated with them, for public statements calling for the overthrow of the government and the constitutional order, and for insults against government members." March 28th - Force was used against protestors at a rally organized by the Artarutyun (Justice) Bloc in Gyumri. Plainclothes policemen threw eggs at rally organizers. Opposition activists were arrested, charged with "hooliganism", or disturbing the peace. Hetq |
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