19:00, 20 March 2009

In Armenia, commander of internal troops dismissed because of March 1, 2008, events

A number of top officials responsible for the events on March 1, 2008, in Yerevan were dismissed from the law-enforcement system of Armenia. This was reported to the session of the National Assembly by Ovannes Unanyan, deputy commander of the Police of the Republic of Armenia. Among those who lost their post are also the commander of internal troops and his deputy.

Colonel Garnik Markaryan, Chairman of the Party "Homeland and Honour" and former employee of law enforcement bodies, said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that neither the commander nor his deputy were the main figures in the events on March 1 last year.

"Pawns have left the system, while high-ranking officials are still in their posts, such as Tamanyan, head of the criminal investigation department and organizer of beating peaceful participants of protest actions in the Freedom Square in the early morning on March 1, Nerses Nazaryan, head of the Yerevan City Police Department, and others. All these dismissal statements are just flubdub aimed at incompetent people; all the big bosses continue to work in the system," said Garnik Markaryan.

Author: Lilit Ovanisyan

Source: CK correspondent