QUESTION: What are your comments on Mr. Bryza’s statement regarding the latest developments in Armenia?

MR. BALAYAN: We’re astonished that even after his visit to Yerevan, after meeting with and hearing from various official and unofficial sources, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza could make such arbitrary statements.

Assigning such one-sided blame is unfounded and not helpful. The number of wounded law enforcement officers (108) -- 43 of them wounded by firearms and hand-grenades -- clearly demonstrates that rioters were in posession of firearms and explosives. That coincides with the operative information of law enforcement agencies which had informed the public about all this, days before the events of March 1. In that case,  labeling the reaction of the government as “a crackdown on opposition protests”, or qualifying it as “harsh and brutal” is incorrect. This was not at all an attack by policemen on civilians.

The violence of March 1 is indeed of great concern to all of us in Armenia, including and foremost, the government, which believes it is responsible for the maintenance of public order and safety. It attempted to do so, exercising restraint, but as law enforcement bodies had earlier cautioned, turned into a clash between officers and demonstrators. With eight people dead (including one policeman) and dozens injured (many from law enforcement), there is no doubt that this was serious violence, and indeed deplorable, as Mr. Bryza says.

Armenia’s challenge, now, 10 days after that disastrous day, is to fully explore and understand what happened and find ways to move forward together.

The international community’s focus should be to encourage all involved to take responsibility for the damage to the fabric of our society and to look for inclusive ways to move forward.
Ill-informed statements can and do contribute to an escalation of political tension.