In Armenia, young oppositionists fight police

In the evening on September 12, in the centre of Yerevan, capital of Armenia, near the building of the Yerevan State Conservatory, a fight burst out between members of oppositional youth public organizations and the police. The young men who represented a number of youth organizations including the one named "Khima" (Now), were informing residents of the capital about the rally of the opposition appointed for September 15.

"The authorities have surpassed all the bounds not only of legality and morals, but also of logic by forcing policemen into illegal actions," said Levon Zurabyan, coordinator of the Centre of the Armenian National Congress (ANC), in his comments to journalists on the scuffle that took place in the evening on September 12 between policemen and representatives of youth organization.

A group of policemen, acting under command of General Nerses Nazaryan, Deputy Chief of the Yerevan City Police Department, attacked the participants of the march, took away the loudspeaker and the leaflets they distributed. Leader of the "Khima" Narek Ovakimyan was brought, under Nazaryan's order, to the police station of the Yerevan community "Centre", but soon released after intervention of Armen Martirosyan, leader of the faction "Heritage".