Armenia: A Tyranny to be Kept Isolated by Turkey on Poor Human Rights Record

- If Turkey should be further democratized and harmonized with Europe, then why should Turkey open its borders to Armenia - a criminal tyranny denounced as such by the HRW in a lengthy and devastating Report?

In five earlier articles entitled "Turkey’s Ongoing Colonization: Only Reason for Recognizing Racist Armenian Tyranny" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94451), "Devastating HRW on Armenian Tyranny Imposes Cancellation of the Gul – Erdogan Pro-Armenian Policy" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94453), "Recognition of the Armenian Tyranny by Ankara Equals Colonization of Turkey by Freemasonic EU – US" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94492), "Turkish – Armenian Rapprochement to Be Linked on Human Rights Conditions’ Improvement in Armenia" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94496), and "Turkey Cannot Open Its Borders to the Heinous, Rancorous Tyranny of Armenia" (http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/view/94498), I republished parts of the devastating HRW Report (the HRW Press Release issued on the occasion of the Report publication a few days ago, the Contents, the Summary, the Methodology, the Background, the 2008 Presidential Elections, and parts of the chapter on the Post-Election Protests and Violence).

I called for a master coup against the unrepresentative Erdogan gang of high traitors, freemasons and besotted pseudo-Islamists, who implement the Anti-Turkish colonial agenda of England and France; in fact, the colonial powers imposed on the Freemasonic pupils Gul and Erdogan the Turkish – Armenian rapprochement.

In the present article, I republish further parts of the HRW Report’s chapter on the Post-Election Protests and Violence. In forthcoming articles, I will republish the remaining parts of the devastating HRW Report on the Armenian Tyranny.

V. The Post-Election Protests and Violence
http://www.hrw.org/en/node/80933/section/7

Demonstrators gather near the French embassy

As news spread about the morning's violence and the de facto house arrest of Ter-Petrossian, other people started making their way to Freedom Square, only to find it closed off by a police cordon. Police were ordering people away. Two eyewitnesses described separately to Human Rights Watch how police attacked, beat, and detained groups of 20 to 30 people who attempted to gather near the square.[75]

Unable to assemble on Freedom Square, many people started to gather near the Alexander Miasnikyan monument on Grigor Lusavorich Street, about 15 minutes walk across the city center from Freedom Square. The monument faces a large open area in front of the new Yerevan City Hall, with the French embassy on the adjacent corner. The Italian and Russian embassies are also in the vicinity.

The number of people assembling at this location grew very fast. Anahit Bakhshyan, a member of parliament from the opposition Heritage Party, told Human Rights Watch that when she arrived there at around 10:30 a.m. she saw fewer than 100 protestors, but in just 20 minutes the entire street became packed.[76] Protestors initially were divided into two groups, those gathered in front of the French embassy and those across the road at the Miasnikyan monument, with police standing in between and preventing them joining up.[77] Bakhshyan, together with other women, made a line between police and the protestors, trying to calm the angry crowd. She told Human Rights Watch:

Police allowed me to use their loudspeaker to address the protestors, calling for calm. Some people threw stones at police. We managed to calm people down a bit … Police threatened to beat people up unless they dispersed. One young man objected to them, saying that they had no right to beat the protestors. As soon as he said that, a policeman hit him with a truncheon on his head and he fell down. We tried to help him and drag him away, but police also were pulling on him and they managed to take him away.[78]

The protestors started setting up barricades of motor vehicles.[79] As one participant, Gevorg. G., a 28-year-old painter, explained to Human Rights Watch, "We were expecting police to attack, and unlike in the morning we wanted to be more prepared for it. We made barricades at Grigor Lusavorich Street, by stopping buses and trolley buses and mini vans … and then using them to barricade."[80]

Lack of accurate information about the earlier police operation at Freedom Square contributed to numerous rumors about possible casualties and heightened feelings among the demonstrators. As Gevorg G. explained to Human Rights Watch, "There were rumors floating around about a 12-year-old girl having been killed during the police attack in the morning. People were just furious about it and wanted to be more prepared if police attacked again."[81] (This rumor was untrue: there were no fatalities during the events at Freedom Square.)

Negotiations and police withdrawal

Around 11:30 a.m. other opposition leaders arrived near the French embassy.[82] Estimates vary widely as to the number of protestors gathered by then, but they were at least many thousands.[83] David Shahnazaryan and Levon Zourabyan, close Ter-Petrossian associates, led negotiations with police officials Alexander Affyan, deputy police chief and Ashot Giziryan, head of the 6th Department, on changing the venue for the spontaneous rally that was already in progress. The police offered to allow the demonstration to continue at the Dinamo football stadium, but the protest leaders rejected this; according to Anahit Bakhshyan, "we were afraid it would be too easy to entrap people there and beat them."[84]

According to Zourabyan, the police seemed genuinely engaged in negotiating a new venue and in deescalating the situation, and even provided a car for him to travel to Levon Ter-Petrossian's residence to talk to him about a possible new venue for the rally.[85] The police offered to move the demonstration to a venue in front of Matenadaran, the museum of ancient manuscripts in downtown Yerevan, a venue frequently used for political meetings. They allowed David Shahnazaryan to address the crowd through a police loudhailer at 1 p.m., to announce that the police would withdraw soon to allow the crowd to move to Matenadaran.[86] Believing that they had agreement that police would leave and people would move on, at around 2 p.m. police began withdrawing, allowing the two groups of protestors to come together.[87]

Deputy police chief Mahtesyan told Human Rights Watch that Nikol Pashnyan, an opposition leader and member of Ter-Petrossian's pre-election campaign, broke the deal, calling for people to stay put.[88] However, eyewitnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch claimed that people did not want to leave as they felt more secure at the present location, as roads were barricaded and the venue was close to several foreign embassies, and also that they wanted to see Ter-Petrossian first.[89]

As police withdrew, an incident occurred that led to the first violence at the afternoon demonstration. A police car with three policemen inside drove into people at high speed, injuring at least two protestors; two witnesses who recounted the incident to us believed that the driver lost control of the car in panic at being among the last police to leave the scene.[90] The incident further infuriated the protestors, who attacked the police car and set it on fire, while the policemen escaped.[91]

A group of mostly young protestors began throwing stones at a group of about 50 policemen outside Yerevan City Hall.[92] Recounting the episode to us, Stepan S., a 35-year-old doctor, noted, "The crowd did not look like the crowd that had been demonstrating peacefully for 10 days. People were furious."[93] Another group of protestors tried to protect the policemen by forming a line between the sides. Heritage party MP Armen Martirosyan, who also tried to calm people down and protect the police officers, was stabbed in the stomach by a member of the crowd.[94] The police retreated inside the building.

In a statement issued by Heritage on March 1, the party blamed what it alleged were government agents acting as "provocateurs" inside the crowd for the incident:

An unfortunate incident did take place today, however, when a group of provocateurs tried to attack a high ranking police officer. Their effortswere hindered by Heritage party member and parliamentarian Armen Martirosyan. As a result, Mr. Martirosyan was stabbed and hospitalized in the third hospital, where he received immediate and urgent care. It is interesting to note that before the stabbing, one of the members of the group had yelled out "This is the deputy who asked a question to Serj [Sargsyan]." It is evident that these provocations are well planned and that, if repeated, they will present a serious threat. We once again call upon the peaceful rally participants to restrain from responding to any such incitements.[95]

The authorities have investigated the stabbing of Martirosyan together with other aspects of the March 1 events, but according to Martirosyan they have not identified any suspects, as far as he knows. The investigation has granted him status as an aggrieved party in a case against seven alleged organizers (see Chapter VI), something which Martirosyan has unsuccessfully tried to have rescinded.[96]

Demonstrators prepare for police attack

There were two construction sites near City Hall. Gevorg G. told Human Rights Watch:

We went into the construction sites and collected the iron and wooden bars. We did not destroy anything, but collected loose iron bars from there. Some also collected stuff from the nearby parks…. We were expecting to be attacked and wanted to be better prepared for it.[97]

Gevorg G. also said that demonstrators broke closed-circuit television security surveillance cameras in front of City Hall.[98]

Vigen V. told Human Rights Watch:

People were getting makeshift weapons from a construction site. Almost everyone was under the impression that the protestors were violently dispersed in the morning and there were rumors about several deaths. People were very angry. They wanted to see the leader, but we heard on the radio that Levon Ter-Petrossian was under house arrest.[99]

During this time police was not making any calls to the protestors to disperse.[100]

Around 5 p.m. loudspeaker equipment was brought to the rally (opposition leaders had been attempting to address the crowd before this with a loudhailer, but their attempts had been largely inaudible).[101] The leaders called for the gathered demonstrators to stay calm and not to provoke the police. At the same time, however, calls to build further barricades to prevent police from attacking were also made.[102] People were shouting "Levon! Levon!" and demanded his appearance.

Police build-up, evening of March 1

Towards the end of the day journalists and demonstrators saw police and other security personnel regrouping in parts of the city center close to where the demonstrators were gathered, notably in the vicinity of Republic Square and Mashtots Avenue, and on Leo and Paronyan streets.[103] A journalist who attempted to drive through Republic Square around 9 p.m. told Human Rights Watch:

The whole of Republic Square was packed with military and police. I could see them holding shields, but could not see weapons. It was getting dark already. I counted three armored troop carriers by the government building. I also saw six-seven buses and several lorries full of military.[104]

Violent clashes and police use of force

At the Miasnikyan monument, a rally continued until around 3 a.m. on March 2. An aggressive police action to disperse the crowd began at around 9:30 p.m. on March 1, and was met with stone throwing and even petrol bombs from the side of the demonstrators. After that, the police retreated and left the large crowd alone. A smaller group of demonstrators, however, engaged in a violent confrontation with police and security forces. It was in this context that most of the fatalities occurred.

Tracer bullets and police attack

Multiple witnesses told Human Rights Watch that shortly after 9 p.m., without prior warning, police started shooting tracer bullets in the air, apparently intending to intimidate the demonstrators and make them disperse. A first episode of tracer fire lasted about 10-15 minutes.[105] Half an hour later, police in riot gear began approaching from the direction of Leo and Paronyan streets. Organized in four to five rows, they advanced toward the demonstrators, accompanied by the second episode of tracer fire.

One witness who was on Shahumyan Square, just behind the Miasnikyan monument, told Human Rights Watch, "I could see the sky full of tracer bullets, shining in red lights. The intense fire lasted for at least 10 minutes and I saw the police advancing in several lines, beating truncheons on the shields and making loud noises."[106]

Whether the police were supported by other security personnel is unclear. Two witnesses stated that military personnel accompanied police, but their accounts differ substantially: Gurgen G. said the first three to four rows of approaching security forces were young military conscripts, followed by riot police shooting the tracer bullets,[107] while Arevik A., observing from her balcony as the forces got into formation on Paronyan street, described police forming into four to five rows, and military personnel lining up behind them.[108] Speaking to Human Rights Watch, deputy police chief Ararat Mahtesyan, denied that any military units participated in the operation until the state of emergency was decreed by the president at 10:30 p.m.[109] According to him, only riot police and regular police were deployed until then.[110] The head of the Special Investigative Group, Vahagn Harutyunyan, suggested to Human Rights Watch that the belief that the military was involved earlier might stem from the fact that military conscripts, sometimes wearing military uniforms, also serve in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.[111]

Numerous witnesses interviewed by Human Rights Watch described in similar terms the sequence of ensuing events. Security forces were making short advances towards the demonstrators. According to witness Gevorg G., the painter, twice police made short advances and then stopped. The third time, however, they "advanced for real, attacking the demonstrators."[112]

Grizelda Kazaryan, 58, and her daughter Gayane Kazaryan, 24, were trying to leave the rally around that time, as Gayane felt sick, and there was a friend's apartment nearby where they could rest. Their departure coincided with a police advance. Grizelda Kazaryan told Human Rights Watch:

We were in between the security forces and the demonstrators. They were in blue and green uniforms. Some of them had iron shields. We tried to talk to them, asking "why are you doing this?", begging them to stop. One of them in a mask came to me and hit me with a truncheon in the stomach. It was very painful.[113]

The women retreated back to the rally. The advancing police started to press the crowd back toward the monument. Gayane Kazaryan told Human Rights Watch:

Men in white helmets attacked us. We were trying to find shelter in the apartment building entrances. I saw my mom trying to get inside one as she was hit with a truncheon on her head and fell down.[114]

Grizelda Kazaryan recounted to Human Rights Watch:

I got a blow from the back and I fell down. They continued to beat me with a truncheon and also kicked me on the head, shoulder, and back. Momentarily I lost a sense of reality; I could not understand where I was and what was happening. I felt dizzy and wanted to throw up.[115]

When Grizelda regained consciousness she saw four or five officers grab her daughter, shouting, "We should beat this whore!"[116] Gayane told Human Rights Watch that as she fell down police continued to assault her, kicking her on the face, back, and legs.[117] Eventually, mother and daughter were saved by a security official, who recognized them, dragged them into a building entrance, and locked the door behind them.[118]

At the time when Human Rights Watch interviewed her, Gayane still had numerous bruises, including on the shoulder, right arm, legs, and back. She had difficulty sitting upright and was confined to bed. Grizelda herself was diagnosed with concussion and required eight stitches on her head. Human Rights Watch interviewed another person who witnessed the entire incident and corroborated the account.[119]

According to Gevorg G., when the police fired teargas "that's when we started to fight back. We hid behind cars and buses and threw stones in return. Some also threw Molotov cocktails made of petrol."[120]

Another protestor who was in a part of the crowd standing near the Russian embassy told Human Rights Watch:

Internal troops came and without any warning attacked the demonstrators. I stood in the middle of the protestors. … When the police were approaching, demonstrators first retreated toward the trolley buses which were used to barricade off the main demonstration site. But then we realized that we could not retreat any further as behind stood our mothers, sisters and brothers… I did not see who threw the first stone, but stones were thrown from both sides. We collected stones from the sidewalks, broke them into pieces and used them to throw at police.[121]

A journalist observing the events described to Human Rights Watch what she saw:

I had a feeling that they [security forces] were going to kill us all. I was terrified and ran back through Proshyan Street. People were throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. They intended to slow down the approaching police.[122]

Although Human Rights Watch was not able to determine under what exact circumstances the first casualties took place, the resistance from demonstrators intensified when at least one of the protestors was shot. A witness described to Human Rights Watch that around 9 p.m. he saw a man get shot in the leg near the Russian embassy as the police were retreating, but he could not elaborate the exact circumstances of the incident.[123] Possibly describing the same incident, another witness told Human Rights Watch that she saw a man in his forties with an apparent gunshot wound to his leg: "I could actually see the hole in his left leg. It was bleeding and his pants were covered in blood."[124] Human Rights Watch was not able to obtain additional information about those casualties and their fate.

Gevorg G. described to Human Rights Watch how a group of 10-15 young men took the fight to the police, chanting "Struggle, Struggle, Struggle to the End!"[125]

Faced with this level of resistance, police retreated, but a small part of the crowd-one witness said around 100 people-pursued them, continuing to attack them.[126] According to Gevorg G., police attempted to block the street with razor wire, "but [the barrier] did not prevent the people. It was simply pushed aside." A lorry carrying razor wire was set on fire.[127] Witness Gurgen G. described to Human Rights Watch seeing five police vehicles burning and a civilian car turned upside down as a result of the first clashes.[128]

Gevorg G., stressed that most others stayed near the barricades. Some had the feeling that "it was over, we won," he said.[129]

Clash between police and demonstrators near Kentron police station

Police regrouped north of the demonstration site at the junction of Paronyan and Leo streets, several meters away from an arch that leads to the Kentron (central district) police station.[130] According to Stepan S., 40, high-ranking police (as evident from their uniforms and epaulettes) were at the arch from the time of the police advance on the crowd,[131] which suggests that operations were being directed, or at least officially observed, from there.

This witness, and another interviewed separately by Human Rights Watch, gave similar descriptions of the ensuing clashes between police and demonstrators who advanced on them. Stepan S. was in the archway and observed from the ground. The other, Arevik A., observed the events from a balcony overlooking the junction.[132] At least three other witnesses corroborated parts of the two accounts.[133]

About 15 to 20 meters away from the police line stood several dozen mostly young demonstrators, chanting "Levon, Levon!" and throwing stones at police.[134] The protestors were not armed, but collected stones from the sidewalks and broke them into pieces. Some also had iron and wooden sticks.[135] Both witnesses described to Human Rights Watch that without any advance warning, police used teargas against the protestors. Arevik A., told Human Rights Watch:

I heard some kind of an explosion on the crossroad of Paronyan Street and Mashtots Avenue. I could see a big cloud of smoke rising from the spot and soon it became hard to breathe. It did not burn my eyes, but it became impossible to breathe and I started choking and had to run inside.[136]

Stepan S. also felt the teargas effects while standing inside the arch when he had to run inside the yard together with the police.[137] Both witnesses told Human Rights Watch that tracer bullets were shot by military standing behind the three to four rows of riot police.[138]

Some protestors attempted to ram an unmanned car into the police line. Stepan S. told Human Rights Watch:

I saw an Ural type car driving towards the police line, but there was no driver inside. The car stopped in the middle. Security forces immediately opened intense fire from submachine guns at the car. I saw a young man was trying to get into the car, but then police used teargas and I had to run inside the yard to get fresh air.… When I came back the shooting was over and I saw a dead body next to the car. Another young man, apparently his friend, was crying for help.[139]

Stepan S. ran to help. The man on the ground was about 40, slightly bald, and wearing a black coat; his head and neck were covered in blood. Stepan S. helped to carry the body to the sidewalk, where somebody checked for a pulse and said the man was already dead.[140]

Arevik A. saw a minivan with about 15 young protestors drive toward the police lines. Police opened fire on it, bringing it to a stop, and those inside the minivan fled (the witness did not report seeing whether any of them had been injured).[141]

Stepan S. also described to Human Rights Watch how, around 10 p.m., a police officer stepped from beneath the arch, pointed his Makarov pistol in the direction of protestors a few meters away who were throwing stones, and fired six shots, apparently randomly. Stepan S. did not see whether anyone was hit.[142]

Arevik A. saw one man shot dead, and another shot in the leg, as they walked toward police lines:

I saw two young men together coming from Mashtots Avenue and when they approached the crossroads I heard a shot and one of them fell on the ground. The other of the two started crying that he was killed. Then a policeman who stood under the arch came and kicked the body, but he was told by others not to do that as he was already dead. Four-five minutes later the other guy was shot in the leg as well and he fell down. He was picked up by others and put into a Zhiguli and taken away.[143]

Stepan S. described to Human Rights Watch how four policemen dragged a wounded protestor into the arch and beat him with truncheons until he was unconscious.[144] Arevik A. also saw how about six officers attacked three young men who approached the lines from the direction of the main demonstration:

Policemen hit one boy with truncheons on his legs. He buckled over with pain and then police made him lie down on the ground and started kicking him and beating him with truncheons. He was then picked up and put into a police car and taken away.[145]

The clashes were over by midnight. As one witness told Human Rights Watch, "The crossroad and nearby streets resembled a battlefield."[146] On the other hand, the main demonstration in front of the Miasnikyan monument with about four or five thousand protestors continued and stayed peaceful.[147] It appears that the majority had no idea about the series of clashes that had taken place a block north at the crossroads. When a witness of the events went to the leaders asking if they knew what was happing on the other side of the barricades, the opposition leaders told her that police was shooting, but just to scare them.[148] The protestors at the main demonstration dispersed around 2-3 a.m. after Levon Ter-Petrossian addressed them by phone, asking them to do so in order to avert greater casualties.[149]

Notes

[75] Human Rights Watch telephone interviews with Lala L. and Zhanna Z., March 1, 2008.

[76] Human Rights Watch interview with Anahit Bakhshyan, MP, Heritage Party, Yerevan, March 26, 2008.

[77] Ibid.; Human Rights Watch interviews with Levon Zourabyan, Yerevan, March 12,; and David Shahnazaryan, Yerevan, March 28, 2008.

[78] Human Rights Watch interview with Anahit Bakhshian, Yerevan, March 26, 2008.

[79] Ibid.; Human Rights Watch interview with Gohar Veziryan, journalist, Chorrord Ishkhanutyun, Yerevan, March 26, 2008.

[80] Human Rights Watch interview with Gevorg G., Yerevan, March 27, 2008.

[81] Ibid.

[82] Human Rights Watch interview with David Shahnazaryan, Yerevan, March 28, 2008.

[83] Deputy Police Chief told Human Rights Watch that there were about 7,000 people gathered at the Miasnikyan monument. Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesyan, March 28, 2008. David Shahnazaryan, an opposition leader and Levon Ter-Petrossian's close associate, put the number of protestors at 100,000. Human Rights Watch interview with David Shahnazaryan, March 28, 2008.

[84] Human Rights Watch interview with Anahit Bakhshyan, Yerevan, March 26, 2008.

[85] Human Rights Watch interview with Levon Zourabyan, Yerevan, March 12, 2008.

[86] Human Rights Watch interviews with with Levon Zourabyan, March 12; and David Shahnazaryan, March 28, 2008.

[87] Ibid.; Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesyan, March 28, 2008.

[88] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesyan, March 28, 2008.

[89] Human Rights Watch interview with Tsovinar Nazaryan, freelance journalist, Yerevan, March 26; Levon Zourabyan, March 12; and Lala L, March 1, 2008.

[90] Human Rights Watch interviews with Anahit Bakhshyan and Tsovinar Nazaryan, March 26, 2008.

[91] Human Rights Watch interviews with Stepan S., Yerevan, March 27; Levon Zourabyan, March 12; Tsovinar Nazaryan, March 26; and Anahit Bakhshyan, March 26, 2008.

[92] Human Rights Watch interview with Stepan S., March 26, 2008.

[93] Ibid. A journalist who was present told Human Rights Watch that even though the two people taken to hospital after being hit by the car were announced to the crowd as not being seriously hurt, absent proper loudspeaker equipment few could hear this, and rumors took hold that there had been fatalities. Human Rights Watch interview with Tsovinar Nazaryan, March 26, 2008.

[94] Human Rights Watch interview with Anahit Bakhshyan, March 26, 2008.

[95] "Heritage Supplementary Statement," Heritage party press release, March 1, 2008, http://www.heritage.am/pr/010308-1.htm (accessed September 18, 2007). Human Rights Watch cannot comment on the veracity of Heritage's claim that "provacateurs" were present.

[96] Human Rights Watch interview with Armen Martirosyan, Yerevan, January 14, 2009.

[97] Human Rights Watch interview with Gevorg G., March 27, 2008.

[98] Ibid.

[99] Human Rights Watch interview with Vigen V., Yerevan, March 29, 2008.

[100] Human Rights Watch interview with Gevorg G., March 27, 2008 and Human Rights Watch interview with Vigen V., Yerevan, March 29, 2008.

[101] Human Rights Watch interview with Stepan S., March 26, 2008. Human Rights Watch interviews with David Matevossyan, March 23; and Gohar Veziryan, March 26, 2008.

[102] Human Rights Watch interview with Stepan S., March 26, 2008.

[103] Human Rights Watch interviews with Gohar Veziryan, March 26; Tsovinar Nazaryan, March 26, and Gevorg G., March 27; 2008.

[104] Human Rights Watch interview with Gohar Veziryan, March 26, 2008. The head of the Special Investigative Group, Vahagn Harutyunyan, insisted to Human Rights Watch no military forces had been involved before the declaration of the state of emergency. He explained that the police had, however, requested and used military vehicles borrowed from the military because of a shortage of vehicles. Human Rights Watch interview with Vahagn Harutyunyan, January 15, 2009.

[105] Human Rights Watch interview with David Shahnazaryan, March 28, 2008.

[106] Human Rights Watch interview with Gohar Veziryan, March 26, 2008.

[107] Human Rights Watch interview with Gurgen G., Yerevan, March 26, 2008.

[108] Human Rights Watch interview with Arevik A., Yerevan, March 29, 2008.

[109] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesyan, March 28, 2008.

[110] Ibid.

[111] Human Rights Watch interview with Vahagn Harutyunyan, January 15, 2009. In also insisting to Human Rights Watch that no military forces had been involved before the declaration of the state of emergency, Harutyunyan explained that the police had, however, requested and used military vehicles borrowed from the military because of a shortage of vehicles.

[112] Human Rights Watch interview with Gevorg G., March 27, 2008.

[113] Human Rights Watch interview with Grizelda Kazaryan, Yerevan, March 11, 2008.

[114] Human Rights Watch interview with Gayane Kazaryan, Yerevan, March 11, 2008.

[115] Human Rights Watch interview with Grizelda Kazaryan, March 11, 2008.

[116] Ibid.

[117] Human Rights Watch interview with Gayane Kazaryan, March 11, 2008.

[118] Human Rights Watch interview with Grizelda and Gayane Kazaryan, March 11, 2008.

[119] Human Rights Watch interview with Tatevik T., Yerevan, March 29, 2008.

[120] Human Rights Watch interview with Gevorg G., March 27, 2008.

[121] Human Rights Watch interview with Gurgen G., March 26, 2008.

[122] Human Rights Watch interview with Gohar Veziryan, March 26, 2008.

[123] Human Rights Watch interview with Vigen V., Yerevan, March 29, 2008.

[124] Human Rights Watch interview with Gohar Veziryan, March 26, 2008.

[125] Human Rights Watch interview with Gevorg G., March 27, 2008.

[126] Human Rights Watch interviews with Gurgen G., March 26; and Gevorg G., March 27, 2008.

[127] Human Rights Watch interview with Gevorg G., March 27, 2008.

[128] Human Rights Watch interview with Gurgen G., March 26, 2008.

[129] Human Rights Watch interview with Gevorg G., March 27, 2008.

[130] Human Rights Watch interview with Ararat Mahtesyan, March 28, 2008.

[131] Human Rights Watch interview with Stepan S., March 27, 2008.

[132] Human Rights Watch inspected the scene and confirmed that Arevik A. would have had an unobstructed view of the events from his balcony.

[133] Human Rights Watch interviews with Grizelda and Gayane Kazaryan, March 11; and Tatevik T., March 29, 2008.

[134] Ibid., and Human Rights Watch interview with Arevik A., March 29, 2008.

[135] Ibid.

[136] Human Rights Watch interview with Arevik A., March 29, 2008.

[137] Human Rights Watch interview with Stepan S., March 27, 2008.

[138]Â Ibid., and Human Rights Watch interview with Arevik A., March 29, 2008. Tracer bullets are modified to accept a small pyrotechnic charge in their base, which ignites upon firing and burns very brightly, making the projectile visible to the naked eye.

[139] Human Rights Watch interview with Stepan S., March 27, 2008.

[140] Ibid.

[141] Human Rights Watch interview with Arevik A., March 29, 2008.

[142] Human Rights Watch interview with Stepan S., March 27, 2008.

[143] Human Rights Watch interview with Arevik A., March 29, 2008.

[144] Human Rights Watch interview with Stepan S., March 27, 2008.

[145] Human Rights Watch interview with Arevik A., March 29, 2008.

[146] Human Rights Watch interview with Gohar Veziryan, March 26, 2008.

[147] Human Rights Watch interview with David Matevosyan, March 27, 2008;

[148] Human Rights Watch interview with Gohar Veziryan, March 26, 2008

[149] Human Rights Watch interviews with David Matevossyan, March 27; and Levon Ter-Petrossian, March 29, 2008.

Note
Picture: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Karabakh, and the illegally occupied by Armenia Azerbaijani territories. A state oppressing its own populations has great chances to fast become a destabilizing factor in regional and global politics. From:
http://www.eu-russiacentre.org/news/nagornokarabakh-yerevan-accuses-baku-breaching-promises.html