Confrontation between police and protesters outside OSCE ODIHR Office in Yerevan

A confrontation occurred on Friday between police and participants of the rally currently taking place outside the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) observation mission in one of the central streets of Yerevan, News Armenia reported.

The rally is a protest against the estimates of the OSCE/ODIHR observation mission stating that presidential election was held in line with international standards and that the registered violations could not affect their outcome.

As a correspondent of the News Armenia agency reported, the clash with law enforcement forces took place after the police demanded the protesters leave the area in front of the OSCE / ODIHR office and refused to do so.

Currently, the police officers have pushed activists 100-200 metres away from the building. The protestors are chanting, 'Amot' (Shame). According to one of the activists they are demanding the observers immediately leave Armenia and never come back, as "their presence in the country contributes to falsification in the elections". The protesters are going to send a letter to the observers with their demands and disagreement with their estimations over the elections.

Representatives of the observer mission mediated by the police officers invited two protesters into the building, but were turned down as the activists demanded the OSCE ODIHR observers come out of the building themselves.

It is noteworthy that the organisers of this campaign are the same people who interrupted the presentation of the preliminary statement on the presidential elections in Armenia by an international observer mission, including representatives of the OSCE ODIHR, PACE and the European Parliament in the Armenia-Marriott hotel on February 19.

A group of young people who introduced themselves as social activists broke into the hall of the hotel where the press conference of the European observers was being held and demanded they do not recognise the election results which were regarded as fraudulent.

Discouraged by the unexpected turn of events the observers interrupted the press conference, resuming it in half an hour. Noting that they respect freedom of speech, the European observers asked the protest organisers to present their demands in English.