Commentary: Armenia's Tragedy

Compared to the successful November 2003 demonstrations in Georgia, or even the unsuccessful October 2003 protests in Azerbaijan, the violent dispersal of Armenian protestors on the night of April 12-13 has gone relatively unnoticed outside of the region. At approximately 2AM in the morning, riot police used truncheons, stun grenades, and water cannons to disperse a crowd of 2-3,000, the remnant of a larger march the day before. The protest was organized by a united opposition to demand the resignation of President Robert Kocharian. The crackdown was accompanied by the arrests of protestors and opposition leaders, the beating of journalists by police, and the raiding of opposition party offices.