V. The Post-Election Protests and Violence

Overview

Prior to election day, Levon Ter-Petrossian had called on his supporters to gather in Yerevan on February 20-when preliminary election results would be known-for either a victory or a protest rally depending on the outcome.[43]From February 21 a continuous protest was installed on Freedom Square (also known as Opera Square), on the north side of Yerevan city center. Daily, several thousand protestors would gather to hear opposition leaders speak, and each night a group of protestors stayed in front of the National Opera House on Freedom Square, mostly in tents, their numbers varying from a few hundred to just over a thousand.[44]

The authorities allowed the protest encampment and rallies for nine days. Ararat Mahtesyan, first deputy chief of national police, told Human Right Watch that although the demonstration was illegal-it was being conducted without permission from the Yerevan city authorities[45]-it was initially tolerated as the Central Election Commission had not announced final results of the presidential election, and police investigations into election day complaints were still ongoing.[46] 

The Yerevan mayor's office issued a statement on February 25 saying the protests were unauthorized, "in violation of the law on assembly, rallies, demonstrations and marches," and urging demonstrators to call a halt to them.[47] Two days later the Armenian police issued a statement urging an end to the unauthorized rallies, saying that "the police are fully resolved and intend to protect the constitutional order in the country and public safety within the bounds set for it by the law."[48]

The authorities moved to suppress the protests on March 1, and in several episodes of violent confrontation between law enforcement officials and protestors, at least eight protestors and two police officers were killed and more than 130 people were injured. President Kocharyan announced a 20-day state of emergency under which all public gatherings and strikes would be banned, and freedom of movement and independent broadcasting severely limited. The events of March 1 are described in detail below.

Armenia's International Legal Obligations on Police Use of Force

Governments are obligated to respect basic human rights standards governing the use of force in police operations, including in the dispersal of legal or illegal demonstrations. These universal standards are embodied in the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials.[49] The Basic Principles provide the following:

 

Law enforcement officials, in carrying out their duty, shall, as far as possible, apply non-violent means before resorting to the use of force and firearms. They may use force and firearms only if other means remain ineffective or without any promise of achieving the intended result.

When using force, law enforcement officials shall exercise restraint and act in proportion to the seriousness of the offence and to the legitimate objective to be achieved. Law enforcement officials must seek to minimize damage and injury.[50]

With respect to the dispersal of assemblies that are unlawful but non-violent, "law enforcement officials shall avoid the use of force or, where that is not practicable, shall restrict such force to the minimum extent necessary."[51]

The European Convention on Human Rights requires all states to prohibit and prevent the arbitrary taking of life and the infliction of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment especially by state officials. Case law of the European Court has confirmed that police authorities must prepare and carry out operations to minimize any risk to people's lives, and to completely prohibit ill-treatment. Where there is evidence that the police have taken a life or committed inhuman or degrading treatment, the authorities must ensure that there is an open investigation leading to the investigation and prosecution of any police officer responsible.[52]

The Council of Europe's European Code of Police Ethics states that "police shall use force only when strictly necessary and only to the extent required to obtain a legitimate objective" and that "police must always verify the lawfulness of their intended actions."[53]

A recent viewpoint issued by the Council of Europe's Human Rights Commissioner Thomas Hammarberg, on impunity for police violence, states that "illegal behaviour by policemen is particularly serious as the very role of the police in a democratic society is to defend the population against crime, including violent crime. When the law enforcement forces themselves break the law, the whole system of justice is derailed." Citing European Court of Human Rights case law, the commissioner noted also that "[t]he use of force is justified only in a situation of absolute necessity and should be practiced with the maximum restraint."[54] 

The statements Human Rights Watch took from demonstrators and bystanders suggest that the first police action, in the early morning of March 1 against the Freedom Square tent encampment, entailed excessive use of force, without warning and in the absence, at the start, of resistance. Although later protestors began throwing stones at police from side streets near Freedom Square, one participant described being beaten up by police who found him lying on the ground.

The events that unfolded later in the day were both more violent and more contentious. Sections of the very large crowd gathered near the French embassy appear to have been armed with metal rods, sticks, paving stones, and even petrol bombs, and seem to have initiated some of the clashes with police, such as at Yerevan City Hall on the afternoon of March 1. On the other hand, participants' statements to us show that police, in their actions that evening to end the demonstration, opened with overly aggressive measures (tracer bullet fire and teargas, and no verbal warnings to disperse), and used excessive force against people who were not physically challenging them. As protestors then responded with using force against police, at least some of the fatalities appear to have occurred because police discharged their firearms deliberately in circumstances where lethal force was not called for, or through improper use of crowd control measures, such as firing teargas canisters at close range. 

Armenia's obligation to investigate all allegations of excessive use of force by police is discussed below, in Chapter VI.

The March 1 Events in Detail

Early morning removal of protestors and protest camp at Freedom Square

On the night of February 29 to March 1, several hundred protestors were on Freedom Square, staying in some 25 to 30 tents.[55] Police moved against the protestors' camp early on the morning of March 1.

According to first deputy police chief Ararat Mahtesyan, speaking to Human Rights Watch four weeks later, the police had arrived at the square on March 1 to conduct a search, acting on information that demonstrators had been arming themselves with metal rods, and possibly firearms, in preparation for committing acts of violent protest on March 1. Mahtesyan said that initially a group of 25-30 police officers, including experts and investigators, were sent to do the search of the protestors' camp. When the group tried to conduct the search, the protestors turned aggressive and resisted police with wooden sticks and iron bars, resulting in injuries to several policemen. At that stage more police had to be deployed and had to use force to disperse the crowd and support the group conducting the search. According to Mahtesyan, this operation lasted for about 30 minutes and 10 policemen sustained injuries as a result.[56] Despite Human Rights Watch's request, Mahtesyan did not provide any details about these injured police and the nature of the injuries they sustained.[57]

Several witnesses interviewed separately by Human Rights Watch consistently described a different sequence of events in front of the Opera House on the morning of March 1. According to them, sometime shortly after 6 a.m., while it was still dark and as demonstrators started waking, news spread that police were arriving at Freedom Square. Hundreds of Special Forces police in riot armor, with helmets, plastic shields, and rubber truncheons, started approaching the square, in four or five rows, from Tumanyan Street and Mashtots Avenue.[58] Police surrounded the square and stood there for a few minutes.[59]

Levon Ter-Petrossian, who had been sleeping in his car parked at the square, was woken up. According to the account he gave Human Rights Watch, he addressed the protestors, some of whom by this time were out of their tents, asking them to step back from the police line, and then to stay where they were and wait for instructions from the police. He also warned the police that there were women and children among the demonstrators.[60]

Even before Ter-Petrossian finished his address, police advanced towards the demonstrators in several lines, beating their truncheons against their plastic shields. According to multiple witnesses, the police made no audible demand for anyone to disperse nor gave any indication of the purpose of their presence. They started pushing demonstrators from the square with their shields, causing some to panic and scream and others to run. Some demonstrators appeared ready to fight the police, which was why, according to Ter-Petrossian, he urged the crowd not to resist the police. Others were still in their tents.[61]

Immediately afterwards, without any warning, riot police attacked the demonstrators, using rubber truncheons, iron sticks, and electric shock batons. According to Ter-Petrossian, a group of about 30 policemen under the command of Gen. Grigor Sargsyan approached him and forcibly took him aside. When asked if he was arrested, Ter-Petrossian was told that police were there to guarantee his safety and that he was requested to cooperate.[62] Levon Ter-Petrossian was subsequently taken home and effectively put under house arrest.[63]

Vahagn V., a 42-year-old economist who had spent the night on the square in front of the Opera House, gave this account:

Without any warning police just started beating truncheons on their shields, making loud noises that created chaos. In a minute or so they started attacking from the side of Tumanyan and Mashtots. They switched off the microphones and electricity. It was still dark. The only lights I could see were small red lights that I thought were flashlights, but they turned out to be from electric shock devices. One of them touched me on the left hand and it burnt my skin. They were attacking from all sides and beating people. Women were screaming. We ran. It was complete chaos...[64]

At least two witnesses described to Human Rights Watch how police ripped off the ropes supporting the tents and as the tents collapsed the police continued assaulting, with their truncheons, people who were still inside.[65] Gagik Shamshyan, a photo correspondent for political opposition newspapers who attempted to photograph the raid, was assaulted by police and then detained. He told Human Rights Watch:

Policemen in riot uniforms in helmets, shields, and truncheons were beating the protestors…. They were also pouring buckets of water on the tents and continued to assault with truncheons. I was shooting photos and after making about 20-25 shots, some policemen saw my camera's flash and about 15 of them attacked me. One of them recognized me and instructed others to beat me … Another one grabbed my camera and hit me with a truncheon on my back. I fell down and they continued to beat me with truncheons and kick me. They handcuffed me and were pulling my hands from behind. It was very painful ... Two of them grabbed me by my jacket and dragged me for about 40 meters, with my face down on the pavement. Another officer who recognized me shouted, "Beat him! He writes bad stuff about us ..." [He] approached me and threatened to gouge my eyes out, and even pushed his finger to my eye. I was terrified ...[66]

Police kept Shamshyan on the ground for about 20 minutes, assaulted him periodically, and then drove him to the central police station.[67] He was later released.

A 54-year-old artist, Sanasar S., gave Human Rights Watch the following account of what happened to him that morning:

 

There were at least as many police in riot gear as people gathered in front of the Opera. Without saying anything police surrounded us and attacked us with truncheons and electric shock devices. People panicked and started running away. I ran together with about 20 protestors towards the Northern Avenue, chased by the riot police. At the intersection of Pushkin Street and Mashtots Avenue about six of them caught up with me. I felt a blow to my head and I fell on the ground, losing consciousness. When I regained my senses I was surrounded by police. Two of them were holding me on my feet as I could not stand. My shoulder ached and my nose was bleeding.[68]

It turned out that Sanasar S. had sustained a broken arm. His subsequent detention is described below in Chapter V.

Murad M., age 30, told Human Rights Watch that a police officer chased him off the square and hit him on the head, causing him to lose consciousness. "I momentarily lost consciousness after a blow on the head, and fell ... When I came to my senses, my brother was carrying me away from the square. My head was bleeding and my hat was all covered in blood."[69] Murad M. required seven stitches on the right side of his forehead. He sustained bruises to his right hand, back, and legs. Fearing arrest, he refrained from going to a hospital and instead sought medical assistance from a private doctor.[70]

Hovsep H., a 32-year-old designer, ran from the square with a group of about one hundred others, with the police chasing them. The group thinned out as some people split off, and was in a stop-and-go chase with police for about an hour. At times the group threw stones at the police. When police finally caught up with Hovsep H., he was assaulted. He told Human Rights Watch:

I felt very tired and could not run anymore. I tried to get into an apartment block entrance, but it was locked. Three or four police ran after me. I felt really exhausted and decided to lie down and cover my face with my hands to protect it. Policemen who were after me started beating me. They were using truncheons and kicking me with their boots. They were beating on my back, head, and kidney area. I felt a huge blow on my head and I lost the feeling of reality, I could not even feel pain anymore and it all felt like a dream. I don't remember anything else, but when I regained my senses, my head was bleeding and the jacket I wore was all bloodied. I was already in a police station by that time.[71]

Hovsep H.'s experience of further ill-treatment in detention is recounted in Chapter V.

As a result of the early morning police actions on Freedom Square, 31 people were officially reported to be injured, including six policemen.[72]

The police claimed that after the demonstrators were dispersed they found a stock of real and makeshift weapons, including "three guns, 15 grenades, two bullet cases and 138 bullets of various calibers, plastic explosives, big number of makeshift weapons, syringes and drugs."[73] All witnesses and victims interviewed by Human Rights Watch claimed that the alleged arms cache was planted after the demonstration was dispersed. The chairman of the ad hoc parliamentary commission established to investigate the March 1 events told Human Rights Watch in January 2009 that he had not seen any evidence linking the arms cache to the demonstration's participants or organizers.[74]

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]

Casualties

At least 10 people were killed as a result of the March 1 events. According to summaries of the deaths publicized by the Office of the Public Prosecutor, four civilians died from wounds from firearms, three civilians died from direct impact of unexploded teargas canisters (apparently fired directly at the demonstrators from close range), and one police officer died from fragmentation wounds. Another two people died later from injuries sustained on March 1: one civilian died from a head wound and a serviceman with the Ministry of Internal Affairs died from a firearm wound.[150] 

Shop looting and other criminal damage

Some demonstrators broke into shops on Mashtots Avenue and looted them. Most protestors to whom Human Rights Watch spoke alleged that those shops were broken into by so-called provocateurs intending to smear the peaceful demonstrators. However, at least two witnesses who had been participants in the demonstrations told Human Rights Watch that three shops belonging to prominent supporters of then President-elect Sargsyan were broken into, and thus tried to justify the crowd's behavior as targeting certain oligarchs only.[151] One of the witnesses, Gevorg G., told Human Rights Watch that he saw that protestors had broken into a supermarket and were eating food on the spot.[152]

The Office of the Public Prosecutor reported that altogether seven shops were looted and 63 vehicles were set on fire.[153]

State of Emergency

At approximately 10:30 p.m. on March 1, President Robert Kocharyan signed a decree, "To Prevent a threat to Constitutional Order and Protect the rights and Legal Interests of the Population," declaring a state of emergency in Armenia.[154] The National Assembly formally approved the state of emergency on March 2.[155] The decree remained in force for 20 days and imposed severe restrictions, including a ban on all mass gatherings and a requirement that all news media use only official information in their domestic coverage. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Armenian language broadcasting was taken off the air and their website blocked.[156] Several other online news publications, including A1+, Haikakan Zhamanak, and Aravot, were blocked by internet service providers on the orders of the security services. During the state of emergency all pro-opposition newspapers were banned from publishing, after they went through prescreening by security service representatives at the publishing houses. The Editor-in-chief of Chorrord Ishkhanutyun told Human Rights Watch that twice, on March 4 and 13, she and her staff attempted to publish the newspaper, but were refused by the publishing house without any explanation after the editions were checked by the security officials.[157] Although media restrictions were lifted on March 13, security service representatives continued interfering with the opposition newspapers' printing, allowing them to publish only on March 21.

International reaction to the state of emergency

After the March 1 events, various international actors expressed serious concern over the violence during the demonstrations. On March 2, then-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said she was "deeply troubled" by the deaths and injuries following the demonstrations, and called on Armenia to honor its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that "even during states of emergency, fundamental rights-such as the right to life and prohibition of torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment-cannot be suspended. Any restrictions of rights must be proportionate and may only be applied to the extent and duration strictly warranted by the circumstances."[158] The EU presidency and external relations commissioner Ferrero-Waldner both issued statements on March 4 condemning the violence.[159]

A statement by Lluis Maria de Puig, the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on March 2 stated that "the authorities must show the utmost restraint and respect the principle of proportionality. The state of emergency that has been declared is an extreme measure and should be lifted as soon as possible: round ups of peaceful demonstrators and gagging the media is not the response of real democrats to differing views."[160] The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg went to Yerevan at the beginning of March to meet with senior government officials and promote protection of human rights,[161] as did Matthew Bryza, US deputy assistant secretary of state; Peter Semneby, the EU special representative for the south Caucasus; and John Prescott of PACE. PACE called for, among other steps, lifting the state of emergency and restoring rights and freedoms, the release of all jailed activists who had not committed violent crimes, and an independent investigation into the March 1 events.[162]

Post-state of emergency restrictions on freedom of assembly

Just before lifting the state of emergency on March 21, 2008, the National Assembly passed amendments to the law on public assembly that severely restricted public gatherings.[163] The amendments, which were criticized by the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe and by the OSCE, repealed a provision that allowed smaller events to develop into "mass" assemblies without prior authorization, granted police and other national security authorities broad and unchallengeable powers to restrict freedom of assembly, and introduced new powers relating to the suspension of assemblies if "mass disorder" resulted in loss of life.[164] As the Venice Commission pointed out, this provision allowed the authorities to disperse assemblies where the use of excessive force by the authorities themselves resulted in the loss of life.[165]  On June 11, 2008, the National Assembly adopted additional amendments to the law on public assembly that largely addressed the concerns expressed by the Venice Commission, which concluded that the new version of the law is "generally in conformity with the applicable European standards."[166]

A member of the opposition, however, told Human Rights Watch in January 2009 that the authorities had granted only two of almost a hundred requests for rallies made by the opposition since the lifting of the state of emergency, and that the authorities had not sanctioned any marches since March 1, 2008.[167] Human Rights Watch documented the brief detention of at least 90 people who participated in peaceful "public walks" organized by political opposition supporters in March 2008. On January 16, 2009, several members of the opposition who had gathered to attend a trial decided to march to the prosecutor's office when the trial was postponed. Police prevented the march by surrounding the marchers and eventually used force to disperse them.[168]