[Onthebarricades] Pro-democracy protests, former USSR

[Andy]

*  ARMENIA:  Mass protest over election result ended by riot police, sparks 
clashes; police kill eight
*  Protests called off by opposition leader, but resume weeks later
*  RUSSIA:  Police squelch opposition protests over electoral corruption
*  RUSSIA:  Civil rights groups hold rally
*  RUSSIA:  Protests after election of Putin ally
*  RUSSIA:  National Bolsheviks protest election results
*  BELARUS:  Police attack a series of opposition protests
*  GEORGIA:  10,000 rally against government

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http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/turkey/8354086.asp?gid=231&sz=345

Armenian opposition ends protest after state of emergency declared Armenia's 
opposition ended a standoff with riot police in the capital Yerevan on 
Sunday after the government declared a state of emergency and mobilised the 
army in response to the worst unrest in a decade, Reuters reported. Violent 
clashes killed 8 protesters and left 33 police injured.
Authorities imposed a state of emergency late Saturday following clashes 
between riot police and protesters that also left 33 police injured. A 
spokeswoman for the foreign ministry told AFP, seven civilians and one 
police officer had been killed. One police officer was in critical condition 
and 17 had been hospitalised for gunshot wounds, she said.
"The police are calling on all citizens to be careful, to hold back and to 
obey all the rules of the state of emergency," a police statement read. A 
dozen armoured personnel carriers and about 100 soldiers stood guard outside 
the main government building and foreign ministry. Several tanks could be 
seen at the scene of the nighttime clashes.
The last protestors dispersed during the night, but burnt-out cars, stones 
and poles still littered the streets. The city was calm Sunday and shops and 
cafes around Yerevan were open as residents walked and examined the damage 
done overnight.
The state of emergency will be in effect in the capital until March 20 under 
a decree signed by President Robert Kocharian. The state of emergency bans 
public demonstrations and requires the media to only publish or broadcast 
information from government sources. Armenias National Assembly voted 
overnight to support the measure and called in a decree for "wisdom and 
restraint... so that life in the country can return quickly to normal."
The violence began early Saturday when riot police cleared a central square 
where protestors had been camped since a February 19 presidential election 
won by Kocharians ally, Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian. The runner-up, 
opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian, said he had been placed under house 
arrest, although the government denied this. Between 6,000 and 8,000 
demonstrators quickly regrouped in another square. When police tried to 
disperse them after nightfall the protestors fought back with petrol bombs, 
sticks and stones. Police used tear gas and fired live ammunition into the 
air. Protestors finally left the streets after an appeal by their leaders.
A police spokesman said eight police officers had suffered gunshot wounds 
during the unrest and that several were in a serious condition. Several 
protesters could be seen with head injuries and burns, but there was no 
official information on casualties among the demonstrators.
Ter-Petrosians spokesman blamed authorities for the unrest. "The authorities 
are entirely responsible for these clashes," spokesman Arman Musinian said. 
"We said that for the situation to be resolved peacefully it was necessary 
for Levon Ter-Petrosian to be able to speak with his supporters."
The protesters had massed in Yerevan Saturday for an 11th consecutive day 
protesting alleged rigging of the presidential vote -- which Europes main 
election monitoring organisation said "mostly" met international standards.
In a statement Saturday, the current chairman of the Organisation for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka 
Kanerva, condemned the use of force against demonstrators.
Official results gave 52.9 percent of the vote to Sarkisian and 21.5 percent 
to Ter-Petrosian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/03/1

Eight killed in Armenia protest
Associated Press in Yerevan
The Guardian,
Monday March 3 2008
Article history
About this article
Close
This article appeared in the Guardian on Monday March 03 2008 on p22 of the 
International section. It was last updated at 00:06 on March 03 2008.
A 20-day state of emergency has been declared in Armenia after clashes 
between troops and protesters in the capital left eight dead and more than 
100 injured.
Demonstrators had been gathering in Yerevan since the presidential election 
on February 19, protesting over alleged election fraud.
Police first raided a protest camp in the central Liberty Square, claiming 
the protesters, supporters of opposition presidential candidate Levon 
Ter-Petrossian, had weapons and were plotting a coup.
About 15,000 demonstrators later returned to the square and police fired 
shots in the air and let off teargas to break up the gathering. Groups of 
demonstrators then marched around town, looting shops and setting cars 
ablaze.
Yesterday, hundreds of servicemen, wearing bullet-proof vests and wielding 
Kalashnikov assault rifles, patrolled the streets. Residents were warned by 
loudspeaker not to gather in groups.
Ter-Petrosian, who was the country's first post-Soviet president, finished a 
distant second to the prime minister, Serge Sarkisian, in the official 
results from the election. He appealed to the constitutional court last week 
to overturn the results. Independent observers have issued an overall 
positive assessment of the election, but noted flaws, especially during vote 
counting.
The outgoing president, Robert Kocharian, appealed for calm. "What's going 
on now is not a political process. It has gone over the edge," he said. "I 
appeal to the people of Armenia to show restraint and understanding."

http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-32240420080301

Armenian riot police break up election protest
Sat Mar 1, 2008 11:27am IST

YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenian riot police used truncheons to break up an 
opposition protest in the capital Yerevan on Saturday, witnesses said.
Several thousand opposition supporters had been protesting daily since a 
Feb. 19 presidential election was won by Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan. The 
opposition said the vote was rigged to deny them victory.
A Reuters correspondent in Freedom Square, scene of the protests, said it 
was now surrounded by several hundred riot police who were blocking access.
A spokesman for Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the opposition leader who had been 
leading the protests, said riot police moved in at 7.30 a.m. (0330 GMT) on 
Saturday when some protesters were holding an overnight vigil in the square.
"They came, they beat people up and they removed everyone," said Arman 
Musinyan.
A police spokesman said he was unable to make any immediate comment.
A man near the square, who did not want to give his name, said he had been 
with the protesters when the police arrived. The man's finger was broken.
"We were asleep. They came and they started to beat us up. They had 
truncheons," he said.
Authorities said earlier their patience was running out with the protests. 
Sarksyan and his close ally, the outgoing President Robert Kocharian, said 
the opposition was abusing its right to protest and hampering normal life in 
the city.
Observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said 
the Feb. 19 election broadly met Armenia's commitments on democracy, though 
there were some flaws.

http://www.eurasianet.org/armenia08/news/022608.shtm
l
Armenia: Dueling Protests Occur in Yerevan, as President Calls on Opponents 
to Sober-Up
By Gayane Abrahamyan: 02/26/08
Yerevan was the scene of competing rallies on February 26. A protest mounted 
by supporters of opposition presidential hopeful Levon Ter-Petrosian 
extended into its seventh day, while, only a kilometer away, Serzh 
Sarkisian, the man declared the winner of the controversial February 19 
presidential election, mustered his loyalists in an attempt to promote the 
legitimacy of the balloting results. The visiting chief of the Organization 
for Security and Cooperation in Europe could only describe the situation as 
"complicated."
Ter-Petrosian backers, claiming widespread fraud, are calling for the 
annulment of the presidential official election results, which handed 
Sarkisian a slim majority of the ballots cast, or just enough to obviate a 
run-off against Ter-Petrosian, the second leading vote-getter. [For 
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The OSCE initially 
characterized the conduct of the election as a step forward for Armenia's 
democratization process. At the same time, election monitors noted poor 
practices in several areas that could have influenced the outcome, 
especially given the tiny margin by which the run-off was avoided.
Evidently concerned that the Ter-Petrosian protest movement is gaining 
traction, supporters of Sarkisian, the sitting prime minister and putative 
president-elect, felt compelled to organize a demonstration of their own. 
According to some reports, government employees were required to attend. At 
the rally, Sarkisian sought to play the role of conciliator, a politician 
who could bring the country back together after the divisive election. [For 
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. "We are here to heal the wounds 
that have opened on the body of our nation after the election," Sarkisian 
said. "We must overcome the trial; we must make the wounds heal quickly."
The role of bad cop was left to outgoing President Robert Kocharian, who in 
comments broadcast on Public Television harangued Ter-Petrosian as 
irresponsible, and warned that his patience with anti-government activity 
was running out. "No country would tolerate illegal rallies for more than a 
day. It's time everybody gets sober and realizes no one can come to power 
via coercive measures," Kocharian stated. The president also called on 
people "not to become an instrument in the hands of irresponsible 
politicians. It is not your game. You won't win it, you will only lose and 
the country will lose."
Despite the presidential words of warning, the ranks of Ter-Petrosian 
supporters show no signs of breaking. Indeed, pressure seems to be mounting 
on both sides. On February 25, for example, the leadership of the Armenian 
Revolutionary Federation issued a statement that denounced the election 
irregularities. The vote was "guided by varying degrees of abuses. The 
leading candidates' supporters engaged in rampant, obvious and veiled 
bribery. [And] in some precincts ballot stuffing and [the use of] brutal 
force were observed," the statement asserted.
The ARF statement stressed that it was imperative for Armenia to avoid 
"post-election polarization." Thus, the party leadership opted to 
acknowledge Sarkisian to be the election winner, and wished him "the best of 
luck." At the same time, ARF members stated that they had no desire to serve 
in Sarkisian's cabinet, and called for a thorough, impartial investigation 
into the election abuses, as well as the creation of an electoral system 
that "does not allow bribery, the participation of non-political, 
semi-criminal elements and the use of administrative resources." Under 
Kocharian, the ARF was part of the governing coalition.
There were several signs that officials are nervous about the strength of 
the pro-Ter-Petrosian protests. For example, a spokesman for the State 
Security Service, Karen Ter-Stepanian, accused opposition supporters of 
conspiring to attempt the armed take-over of Public Television studios, the 
Russian news website Gazeta.ru reported. The conspirators supposedly wanted 
to broadcast a Ter-Petrosian statement denouncing the election results.
Meanwhile, government arrests of suspected opponents are continuing. [For 
background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. On February 26, six more 
high-profile politicians, including Suren Sureniants, a leading member of 
the political council of the opposition Republic Party, were taken into 
custody. Sureniants is reportedly accused of violating legislation governing 
public demonstrations.
Armen Harutiunian, Armenia's ombudsman, has visited the detainees in jail, 
and has been in contact with 10 opposition activists who are conducting a 
hunger strike to protest the election results. Harutiunian announced that a 
task force has been established to monitor developments. "The detained have 
lawyers," Harutiunian said. "Some of [the] hunger strike[rs] suffer from 
various types of illnesses, so the necessity for medical help may occur at 
any time."
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilka Kanerva, visited 
Yerevan on February 26 for a first-hand look at the brewing crisis. Kanerva 
endorsed the initial findings of the OSCE election monitoring mission, while 
striving to foster "political dialogue" that can promote "legal solutions" 
and end the current stand-off. "The post-election period at the moment is 
quite complicated and the post-election tensions are obvious," he said.
What appears to be the only legal avenue still open to Ter-Petrosian forces 
is an appeal to the Constitutional Court. Any legal challenge, however, 
faces several obstacles. For one, the deadline for recounting ballots has 
passed without the vast majority of ballots being reexamined.
Some cases where the votes were double-checked turned up wide discrepancies 
with the original results. The most infamous adjustment occurred in ballots 
cast at electoral district 9/31, where the original total of 709 votes for 
Sarkisian was reduced to 395. Meanwhile, only 3 of the 120 ballots cast for 
the ARF candidate Vahan Hovhannisian were properly recorded, with the others 
mysteriously awarded to Sarkisian. In addition, 50 votes for third-place 
finisher Artur Baghdasarian were not counted.
Not only the vote itself, but the recount has come under attack by 
opposition leaders. Baghdasarian, told EurasiaNet that the recount was being 
manipulated "to mislead the international community."
At a February 26 news conference, a member of the Heritage Party leadership 
and MP, Zaruhi Postanjian, characterized the recounts collectively as a 
"false procedure."
"What recount can we talk about, when representatives of candidates were 
kidnapped and beaten for [whistle-blowing] against [ballot-box] stuffing on 
Election Day," Postanjian said. "Nothing can be changed by recounting the 
ballots" that were cast illegally in the first place, he added.
Baghdasarian said that he personally could not place much faith in the 
Constitutional Court to deliver an impartial verdict in any electoral 
dispute. "Having the unsuccessful experience of appealing to the 
Constitutional Court after the parliamentary election 2007, I don't believe 
we will achieve any result. Everybody knows the court system in the Republic 
of Armenia is not independent," he said.

Editor's Note: Gayane Abrahamyan is a reporter for the ArmeniaNow.com weekly 
in Yerevan.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKL0229545320080302

UPDATE 1-Armenian opposition ends protest after violence
Sun Mar 2, 2008 1:36am GMT
 (Adds quotes and details)
By Margarita Antidze
YEREVAN, March 2 (Reuters) - Armenia's opposition ended a standoff with riot 
police in the capital Yerevan on Sunday after the government declared a 
state of emergency and mobilised the army in response to the worst unrest in 
a decade.
Earlier, police fought pitched battles with opposition supporters who had 
held daily protests since a Feb. 19 poll that the opposition said was rigged 
in favour of Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyan to become president. At least one 
person was killed.
About 2,000 protesters remained after those clashes in a square in the 
centre of Yerevan armed with metal rods and Molotov cocktails as army trucks 
headed towards the capital.
But the crowd melted away after a message was read out from Levon 
Ter-Petrosyan, the protest leader and defeated challenger in the election, 
urging his supporters to go home.
"I do not want any victims and clashes between police and innocent people. 
That is why I am asking you to leave," said the message from Ter-Petrosyan, 
a former president who since Saturday has been barred by police from leaving 
his home.
He said in his message he would be holding negotiations with the government, 
reversing a previous stance that talks were out of the question unless the 
election result was overturned.
A hard-core of about 60 protesters initially refused to go home and set fire 
to police jeeps abandoned after the earlier clashes. But a few minutes later 
all the protesters had gone, leaving the square strewn with debris.
Armenia is a former Soviet republic of 3.2 million people in a Caucasus 
mountains region that is emerging as a key transit route for oil and gas 
supplies from the Caspian Sea.
The violence was the worst since 1998, when a mass uprising had forced 
Ter-Petrosyan to resign.
FAULT LINE
Sarksyan's opponents accused him of stealing victory through ballot-rigging 
and intimidation. Sarksyan denied this and Western observers said the vote 
had been broadly fair.
The main political fault-line is that Ter-Petrosyan's supporters accuse 
outgoing President Robert Kocharyan of running a crony state where only 
those with ties to the ruling elite have access to business opportunities 
and decent jobs.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe issued a statement 
saying it "condemned the use of force against peaceful demonstrators".
When the violence erupted on Saturday, demonstrators armed with metal rods 
and sticks pelted police with Molotov cocktails, setting cars ablaze. At one 
point police fired their weapons into the air, sending tracer fire through 
the night sky.
Television pictures showed a body being driven from the scene on the roof of 
a car, with protesters hanging on to the sides of the vehicle to hold it in 
place. Shops in the centre of the city were looted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/21/world/europe/21armenia.html?_r=1&ref=europe&oref=slogin

Thousands in Armenia Protest Results of Presidential Election

Karen Minasyan/Agence France-Presse - Getty Images
Political protesters faced the police in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on 
Wednesday.
By SABRINA TAVERNISE
Published: February 21, 2008
ISTANBUL - Thousands gathered Wednesday in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, 
to protest Tuesday's presidential election, which they said had been rigged, 
although international observers evaluated it as relatively free and fair.
On Wednesday, election officials declared Serge Sargsyan, the current prime 
minister, the winner, with 53 percent of the vote.
The presidential election - the fifth since Armenia won independence from 
the Soviet Union in 1991 - pitted Mr. Sargsyan against Levon Ter-Petrosian, 
Armenia's first president after the Soviet Union's fall. Mr. Sargsyan is an 
ally of the current president, Robert Kocharian, who is stepping down 
because of term limits.
The protests have so far not turned violent, as political protests have in 
many former Soviet states, including those in Armenia's neighbors Georgia 
and Azerbaijan. Armenia is also bordered by Turkey and Iran.
Still, they have cast a shadow over democracy in Armenia, a tiny landlocked 
country whose governments have tended to be more tolerant of dissent than 
those in many other post-Soviet states. "At the moment it looks quite 
serious," said Boris Navasardian, president of the Yerevan Press Club, by 
telephone from Yerevan. "It could make some tension in the country."
Arman Musinyan, a spokesman for Mr. Ter-Petrosian's campaign, said: "It 
could hardly be called an election. There was an undeclared war against us."
Mr. Musinyan said the governing party used state resources to influence the 
vote and had engaged in double voting, ballot stuffing and physical 
intimidation. The worst violations, he said, were recorded in a suburb of 
Yerevan called Abovian.
But a delegation of international observers from the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a statement that the election had 
been fair, though it did acknowledge problems.
The election "was conducted mostly in line with the country's international 
commitments, although further improvements are necessary," the organization 
said in a statement on Wednesday.
Armenia has a better democratic record than many other post-Soviet states, 
largely because of tense relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan and its lack 
of natural resources requires it to forge international alliances to 
survive. International observers gave the parliamentary election last year a 
stamp of approval.
But democracy in Armenia had a turbulent start. In 1999, at least eight 
officials were killed, including the prime minister and the speaker of 
Parliament, when nationalist gunmen stormed Parliament.
Mr. Navasardian said that the police might act to disperse the 
demonstrators, but that Mr. Ter-Petrosian was "a person who never recognizes 
that he lost," and was unlikely to give up quickly.
Mr. Musinyan said the protests would not stop until Armenia's Central 
Electoral Commission annulled the results of the election.
"The goal is to hold a new election," he said.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-02-21-armenia-protests_N.htm

Armenians protest P.M. election win

Supporters of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian during a rally in 
Yerevan, Armenia, on Wednesday.

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - Tens of thousands of opposition supporters rallied 
for a second straight day in Armenia's capital Thursday, claiming the 
presidential vote was rigged and vowing to continue their protest until new 
elections are held.
Activists set up about dozen tents on a central Yerevan square in an effort 
to stage round-the-clock protests, but authorities warned they could 
intervene to maintain order.
Election officials said Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian - the favored 
successor of outgoing President Robert Kocharian - received almost 53% in 
Tuesday's vote, enough to win the presidency outright. The leading 
opposition candidate, Levon Ter-Petrosian, had 21.5%.
The opposition members say the real winner was Ter-Petrosian, who was 
Armenia's president after the 1991 Soviet breakup, and his supporters have 
claimed widespread violations and violence targeting opposition activists.
An estimated 25,000 protesters waved flags, raised clenched fists and 
shouted, "Levon! Levon!" Meanwhile, Ter-Petrosian claimed that two deputy 
defense ministers had switched to his side and promised him that the army 
would not interrupt the demonstration. The Defense Ministry later denied 
this.
"Both deputy ministers stand together with the people and they will defend 
the candidate who has the people's trust," Ter-Petrosian said. "The army 
will not intervene in politics."
Opposition activists later erected tents on the main square and a steady 
supplies of warm clothing and blankets could be seen arriving. The mood was 
festive despite freezing temperatures and people set off fireworks and 
danced traditional dances as loud music blared through loudspeakers.
"Today we begin non-stop protests and rallies," Ter-Petrosian aide Nicol 
Pashinian said. "We're going to stay here until we win."
The crowed thinned to several thousand by late Thursday who said they were 
determined to stay through the night. Several dozen police officers 
patrolled the area.
The opposition faces an uphill struggle in mustering support for a new vote, 
after the election received endorsement from regional power Russia. Western 
observers noted violations but said the vote was generally positive.
The standoff has raised concerns of instability in the volatile, strategic 
country at the junction of the southern Europe and the energy-rich Caspian 
Sea region, with Russia and Iran nearby.
Memories of economic hardships of the early 1990s are still fresh for most 
Armenians, as is the devastating conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over 
the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. The mountainous region in neighboring 
Azerbaijan has been under ethnic Armenian control since a cease-fire ended 
six years of fighting in 1994.
The capital was the scene of weeks-long protests following Kocharian's 
re-election in 2003, which the opposition also called fraudulent, but the 
protests never gained momentum.
Kosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia on Sunday added an element 
of uncertainty for Armenians, many of whom see clear analogies between 
Kosovo and Nagorno-Karabakh.

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/03/21/europe/EU-GEN-Armenia-Opposition.php

Armenia state of emergency lifted, hundreds gather to protest arrests

The Associated Press
Published: March 21, 2008

YEREVAN, Armenia: Several hundred opposition supporters rallied across the 
Armenian capital on Friday after authorities lifted a 20-day state of 
emergency.
Friday's demonstrators protested the March 1 arrests of dozens of opposition 
activists after clashes between police and protesters. Eight people were 
killed and dozens were injured in those clashes.
That was followed by the state of emergency, banning public gatherings, 
which ended at midnight Thursday.
The latest demonstrators lit candles and held pictures of those arrested 
March 1. Police officers approached the protesters, who formed a chain 
across downtown Yerevan, urging them to disperse but not using force.
Several protesters yelled curses at the police, but there were no clashes.
The violence March 1 broke out after police forcibly dispersed protesters 
who claimed the government rigged the Feb. 19 presidential election and 
demanded a new vote.
According to the official results, the favored candidate of outgoing 
President Robert Kocharian, Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian, won nearly 53 
percent of the vote, while opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian received 
about 21 percent. Sarkisian is scheduled to be inaugurated April 9.
The opposition has alleged the election was affected by widespread fraud and 
sometimes violent pressure on its supporters.
Sarkisian said Thursday that 106 of the scores of opposition supporters who 
were detained remain under arrest, including some of Ter-Petrosian's former 
allies.
"We are demanding that the authorities explain to us why these 106 people 
have been arrested," said one protester, Armen Martirosian, 38.
The opposition has capitalized on widespread public anger over poverty, 
which remains endemic in Armenia despite an economic growth of recent years.
"We have nothing to eat," said another protester, Alla Arutyunian. "I'm 
wondering whether Sarkisian and his family could survive on the money they 
give me."
Western countries have expressed concern about the government's crackdown, 
while Russia - which has close ties with Armenia and maintains a military 
base in the ex-Soviet republic - expressed support for law and order.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7308860.stm

Armenian opposition stage protest

Mr Ter-Petrosian wants the election results overturned
More than 1,000 Armenian opposition supporters have attended a protest in 
Yerevan following the end of the state of emergency imposed three weeks ago.
The demonstrators lit candles and held pictures of the more than 100 
activists who were arrested after clashes with police on 1 March left eight 
dead.
fighting erupted when officers tried to end a protest against the result of 
last month's presidential election.
The poll gave victory to the current Prime Minister, Serzh Sarkisian.
The opposition says there was widespread fraud and wants to result 
overturned.
Vigil
Supporters of the main opposition leader, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who came 
second, took part in the march in Yerevan on Friday, only hours after the 
state of emergency was lifted.

The procession was a peaceful vigil to remember the 106 opposition activists 
arrested since the clashes for allegedly plotting a coup.
No violence was reported, although several protesters shouted at riot 
police.
When announcing the end of the state of emergency, outgoing President Robert 
Kocharian warned that any unauthorised protests would not be tolerated.
A new law passed this week allows the authorities to ban demonstrations if 
they are said to be a threat to public order.
But the opposition says it has the right to protest and will find a way to 
work around the legislation.
The party of President-elect Sarkisian and three other parties have agreed 
to form a coalition government ahead of his inauguration on 9 April.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,334633,00.html

Russian Police Detain Dozens in Attempt to Thwart Opposition Protest Over 
Election
Monday, March 03, 2008
File: Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and First Deputy Prime 
Minister and presidential candidate Dmitry Medvedev.
MOSCOW -  Police detained dozens of people Monday at a protest over the 
presidential election in Moscow, manhandling many and hauling them into 
buses as demonstrators chanted "Shame!" and "Down With the Police State!"
In Russia's second largest city, meanwhile, Garry Kasparov - the former 
chess champion who is now an ardent Kremlin foe - led as many as 3,000 
people on an authorized march to protest the vote, which was won 
resoundingly by outgoing President Vladimir Putin's protege, Dmitry 
Medvedev.
Moscow riot police with helmets and shields encircled a little square 
outside a subway station while small groups of activists tried to light 
flares and unfurl anti-government banners. As some chanted "This Is Our 
City!" and "We Need Another Russia!" police stormed through the crowd, 
tackling people and dragging them away, their arms wrenched behind their 
backs or their shirts half-torn off.
Most of those detained appeared to be younger, and targeted specifically by 
police, though a leader of a liberal political party, Nikita Belykh, was 
also taken away by camouflaged officers holding him above their heads. Also 
arrested was prominent human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov.
Two members of Kasparov's coalition were detained in Moscow, his Web site 
said.
"Fifteen years ago I wouldn't have thought that my children would be growing 
up in a country that reminds me so much of the Soviet Union," said Alexander 
Ivanov, 48.
The display of police force was sign that authorities would allow no 
significant dissent as the Kremlin celebrates Medvedev's victory - a victory 
dismissed by Kasparov and other opposition leaders as a farce.
In St. Petersburg, Kasparov and his co-leader in the Other Russia opposition 
coalition, Eduard Limonov, appeared at a simultaneous protest. Unlike in 
Moscow, the group in St. Petersburg had permission for the rally.
A crowd estimated by police at up to 3,000 gathered in a square and marched 
toward the heart of the city, shouting "Down with the Police State!" and 
"This City is Ours!" Police did not intervene.
"Medvedev's appointment is illegitimate," Kasparov said. "March 3 is the day 
we start fighting against an illegitimate regime."
"Where have you come from, Mr. Medvedev? Russia doesn't belong to Putin and 
Medvedev, Russia belongs to us," Limonov told the crowd. "We aren't going to 
live under President Medvedev, and we are going to prove that in the coming 
weeks and months."
Medvedev faced only token competition in Sunday's vote. Kasparov and other 
opposition leaders were barred from appearing on the ballot on 
technicalities.
The Other Russia coalition held several so-called "Dissenters' Marches" in 
the months before the election to highlight its assertions that the Kremlin 
has strangled democracy and tightened its grip over politics and society.
The Other Russia has drawn thousands of people to its rallies, but has had 
trouble attracting broad support.
"The authorities are doing this because they're afraid of democracy in 
Russian society," said Olga Chernovskaya, 46, a nurse at the Moscow protest. 
"People are sitting behind closed doors around their kitchen tables 
discussing all this and condemning it, but people are still afraid to come 
out and freely speak their minds."

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5B0630C9-7AB5-41DD-8E8E-B2D406911EBD.htm

Russia crushes election protest
By David Connolly in Moscow

The police, some wearing helmets and carrying riot shields, seized people 
from the crowd

At least 17 opposition protesters have been arrested as riot police put down 
a banned rally in Turgenevskaya Square in central Moscow.

The protesters from the Other Russia coalition of opposition parties - who 
were heavily outnumbered by the hundreds of police - were grabbed and forced 
on to buses to cries of "no police power".

The police, some wearing helmets and carrying riot shields, surrounded a 
park and the entrance to a metro station seizing people from the crowd.

Monday's demonstration was called to protest against Sunday's presidential 
election which was won by Dmitry Medvedev.

As the police moved forward the crowd broke out into chants of "False-Dmitri 
out of the Kremlin!" and "Russia without Putin".

Others were pulled from a nearby fast food restaurant.
'March of Dissent'
The city authorities had refused to authorise the so-called "March of 
Dissent", saying that the pro-Kremlin Young Russia group had already planned 
gatherings at every large meeting point in the capital.
Other Russia decided to go ahead with the march and had said it would appeal 
against the city's decision.
Police vehicles filled the streets around the area as plainclothes security 
officials helped identify the opposition activists.
Nikita Belykh, the head of the Union of Right Forces, was among those 
detained.
His party has been particularly vocal in its criticism of Vladimir Putin, 
who supported Medvedev as his successor.
"Nowadays, every opposition activity is unsafe," Belykh said ahead of his 
arrest.
"The elections that were held on March 2 can be called a farce... each 
organisation calling itself liberal or calling itself democratic must be in 
opposition."
Constitution violated
Korneev Yakov, one of the protesters who was waving a copy of the Russian 
constitution, told Al Jazeera that everyone should be able to gather without 
risking arrest.
"According to the constitution, everybody can meet together without weapons 
and give their opinion. What does this lead to, you've just seen," he said, 
referring to the arrests.
"Our democracy, it's right there in helmets," he said, pointing to the 
security forces that had ringed the square.
Garry Kasparov and Eduard Limonov, two leaders of Other Russia, appeared at 
another protest in St Petersburg, which officials had allowed to go ahead.
That also took place amid tight security.
Kasparov told the crowd of several hundred: "Now there is very heavy 
pressure in the country.
"It's important now for people not to be afraid and to understand that it's 
our city and it's our country."
Maxim Reznik, head of the Yabloko opposition party in St Petersburg, was 
detained ahead of the St Petersburg protest.
'Fascism'
Other Russia said it was organising the protests to allow ordinary Russians 
to express their thoughts about the political climate in Russia.
Adel Naidenovich, a member of Limonov's National Bolshevik party, asked 
where the other opposition parties were.
"No Zyuganov here, where is Zhirinovsky," she asked, referring to two of the 
defeated presidential candidates who have complained about the conduct of 
the vote.
"We have eight parties not allowed to take part in elections, where are 
they? There is nobody here because they know that it is fascism, they are 
afraid of being beaten."

http://tinyurl.com/32ztup

Civil Rights Groups Unite at Protest Event
By Sergey Chernov
Staff Writer
Sergey Chernov
The St. Petersburg Times

Twenty five political and social organizations gathered peacefully on
Saturday to protest against Kremlin policies, and those of its ally City
Hall, as well as to "demonstrate both the autonomy and cooperation of
the members of social movements," as the Movement for Civil Initiatives
(DGI), the local NGO that coordinated the rally, put it in a statement.

With the motto "For Civil Rights and Social Justice," the rally's
slogans were "Rights Are Not Given, Rights Are Taken" and "Stop the Bear
Reforms" (a bear is the symbol of the Kremlin-backed United Russia party).

Sanctioned by the local authorities, the rally, which drew an estimated
400 participants, was part of the World Social Forum's Global Day of
Action campaign, in which many movements around the world took part. The
date was chosen to coincide with the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
in Davos, Switzerland, which closed on Sunday. Such rallies were held in
24 Russian cities.

Several activists were detained by the police. But although the site of
the protest near the Finland Station was tightly surrounded by OMON
special forces police officers and trucks, detentions were made
covertly, before and after the rally -- without the aggressive
crowd-control measures taken at an anti-Gazprom Tower protest earlier
this month. The OMON policemen wielded batons, but were not equipped
with shields and helmets, which have been a frequent sight at recent
rallies.

The event started with presentations by various groups and movements and
was followed by a meeting.

To comply with the Russian Social Forum regulations, political parties
could not act as the rally's co-organizers, but could take part via
individual representatives and social organizations. Apart from the
liberal party Yabloko and the Communists, it was mostly representatives
of pressure groups such as the Living City (Zhivoi Gorod), Okhta Bend
(Okhtinskaya Duga) and ZOV (Defend Vasilyevsky Island) who spoke at the
rally. Labor was represented by trade unions from the local Ford Plant
and dockers.

While speakers raised objections to Dmitry Medvedev, President Vladimir
Putin's declared "successor" in the upcoming presidential elections, and
criticized the State Duma elections in December as rigged, most speeches
were devoted to local problems, such as the planned Gazprom Tower, or
Okhta Center as it is now officially known, and multiple violations of
the city's planning code.

"During the rule of [Governor] Valentina Matviyenko, there have been a
lot of conflicts over in-fill construction; there have been protests,
lawsuits and letters to the prosecutor's office," said Tatyana Kuchurina
of DGI.

"It is the same situation with the chopping down of parks and public
gardens: it looks like after a couple more years of the city mistress'
stormy behavior, there won't be a single living bush or tree left.

"The governor's decrees often override federal laws and the
constitution. [...] But we understand that the city's residents are not
the cattle that the authorities think them to be. Residents have become
expert, intelligent, active, and more and more people are coming out to
defend their rights," she said.

Living City, a group that fights for the preservation of the cultural
and architectural heritage of St. Petersburg, held a performance using
papier-mache models of classical buildings that were attacked by an
activist wearing an "I Love $Pb" helmet. But his attempts to erect a
skyscraper made of cardboard boxes and destroy the city's historical
landscape were stopped by protesters.

Many speakers urged all the groups to unite in their struggle and
coordinate their actions.

However, The Other Russia, the pro-democracy coalition behind the past
year's most visible marches and meetings and often suppressed by the
OMON police, did not take part. Coordinator Olga Kurnosova said she was
not informed about the event by the organizers.

"There are two reasons, one essential and one formal [why the Other
Russia didn't take part]," she said.

"The essential one is that under the current political situation where
democratic institutions have been destroyed, there's no sense discussing
social issues. Everybody should unite and demand the restoration of
basic civil liberties, first and foremost. When there are normal
elections and a normal media, then social issues can be dealt with in a
normal way."

"As to the formal reason, we only learned about the event from the
media. I think the organizers should inform everybody, and then actions
will be broader and more effective."

Meanwhile, charges against Kurnosova for taking part in an unsanctioned
march and for refusal to follow police orders at the suppressed
Dissenters' March on Nov. 25 were dropped by a court on Monday. Police
witnesses for the prosecution failed to appear.

At Saturday's protest event the police's attention was drawn to a group
of anarchists and left-wing activists from the newly-formed Association
of Libertarian Initiatives (ALI), who stood shoulder to shoulder wrapped
with banners, some with their faces covered with scarves, and chanted
slogans. Their banner -- reading "The Only Way Is Resistance" -- was
disapproved of by a police colonel, who, after an argument with the
demonstrators, brought in a dozen police officers to form a line
covering the slogan from public view with their backs.

"They tried to detain the group of DSPA [the left-wing Pyotr Alekseyev
Resistance Movement, part of ALI], who stood up for radicalism in their
slogans and behavior, but as the organizers we interfered and managed to
prevent the police's action against them," said Yevgeny Kozlov, the
chairman of DGI's coordinating board by phone on Monday.

However, an unidentified man was taken away by two policemen as
protesters gathered at the site at about 12.20 p.m. More detentions took
place after the event as protesters headed to the metro. Several
activists from Food Not Bombs, who had been offering free warm boiled
buckwheat to protesters at the rally, were detained in the metro.

"We were carrying a pan with some food left in it, in a bag, and near
the metro we were approached by three plain-clothed men who told us to
go with them -- they didn't introduce themselves, but it was obvious
that they were from the police," said Dmitry, a Food Not Bombs activist
who asked that his last name be withheld.

According to Dmitry, the activists were searched, had their photos taken
and were interrogated at the metro police station. One was held at the
police station for three hours, he said.

"We were asked why we were distributing the food in the sector where the
Association of Libertarian Initiatives stood, anarchists and the like,
if we knew anyone out of them. I asked them what the reason for the
detention was. They said, 'A document check. And maybe you were carrying
something [illegal] in your bag.'"

The head of DGI Yevgeny Kozlov said the rally was a success.

"Sometimes one can judge the importance of our events by the reaction
from the authorities, which was evidently inappropriate considering the
number of OMON policemen present," he said.

"More people came than we had counted on, despite the bad weather.
Despite some organizational problems, the first attempt at a city social
forum was a not a flop."

http://www.ecanadanow.com/news/world/election-protesters-clash-with-russian-riot-police-20080304.html

Election Protesters Clash With Russian Riot Police

Moscow (eCanadaNow) - Riot police in Russia clashed with protesters who were 
holding an unauthorized rally in Moscow against the newly elected president, 
Dmitri Medvedev, who will replace his ally, Vladimir Putin.

Over 300 riot police had to be called in to try and keep the protesters 
under control.

They dragged many people away to police buses to escort them out of the 
area.

Flares were lit, spreading smoke throughout the sky.

The opposition is unhappy with the election of the friend of former 
President Vladimir Putin, Dmitri Medvedev.

The protesters stated that the elections in Russia were pre-planed, and 
falsified.

Figures have shown that Medvedev won over 70% of the vote in the country.

The leaders of Russia's liberal opposition continue to call for action 
against the results.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/01/28/012.html

Monday, January 28, 2008. Issue 3829. Page 3.
Riot Police Detain 27 Protesters
The Moscow Times
OMON riot police on Friday detained 27 activists from the banned National 
Bolshevik Party who were protesting the results of last month's 
parliamentary elections, the group's spokesman said.
Around 35 activists gathered on Ulitsa Ulofa Palme, a street in western 
Moscow where several State Duma deputies live, and shouted slogans demanding 
they resign, said Alexander Averin, the banned party's spokesman.

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL2160065720080121

Belarus protest dispersed by police
Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:25am EST

By Andrei Makhovsky
MINSK (Reuters) - Police in ex-Soviet Belarus dispersed a protest on Monday 
by about 2,000 entrepreneurs denouncing President Alexander Lukashenko's 
decree that places restrictions on hiring staff.
The rally, the second such protest this month, went ahead in central October 
Square without official permission and organizers said about 15 activists 
were detained.
Clearly wanting to avoid confrontation after Interior Minister Viktor Naumov 
threatened to remove them by force, they were pushed to nearby pavements by 
riot police beating their shields.
"We now see a general practice in Belarus of state pressure on business," 
Viktor Krival, one of the leaders of the small business protest, told 
protesters in the square, scene of big demonstrations against Lukashenko's 
re-election two years ago.
"The decree aims to destroy the individual entrepreneur."
Businessmen say the new regulations deny them the right to hire workers 
outside their immediate families or obliges them to re-register and be 
subject to higher taxes.
Leaders of the 200,000-strong movement of small entrepreneurs have 
threatened to go on strike from next month and to withhold tax payments. 
Protests three years ago prompted authorities to roll back on changes in 
regulations.
Lukashenko is accused by Western countries of running roughshod over basic 
rights by jailing opponents, crushing independent media and rigging 
elections, including his re-election to a third term in 2006.
Dozens of activists were detained at a similar protest two weeks ago and 
handed short jail terms for public order offences.
Belarus's most prominent opposition leader, interviewed by Germany's 
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, said authorities were reacting "very 
nervously" by arresting protesters.
Entrepreneurs, once apolitical, had been galvanized by the threat to their 
livelihood, Alexander Milinkevich said, and the liberal and nationalist 
opposition was helping them.
"While Lukashenko is putting the thumbscrews on the domestic private sector, 
he is handing out licenses everywhere in the cities to foreign supermarket 
chains which small businesses can no longer compete with," Milinkevich told 
the daily.
"In this situation, the merchants recognize that their only chance for 
survival is to take their protest on to the streets."
(Additional reporting by Ian Rogers in Berlin, Writing by Sabina Zawadzki; 
Editing by Jon Boyle)

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5A022E00-6643-4A4C-A02B-0F2AEDFE99E0.htm

Belarus riot police crush protest

Protesters were prevented from reaching a central Minsk square by armed 
police [AFP]

Dozens of Belarusian opposition supporters have been detained after clashes 
with riot police during a banned protest in the capital Minsk.

The government had vowed to prevent any demonstrations on Tuesday, but 
thousands of people attempted to gather in a central square that had been 
blocked off by heavily armed police.

After warning the crowd that the protest was illegal, the police moved in, 
beating demonstrators with truncheons and dragging them on to waiting buses.

Anatoly Lebedko, chairman of the opposition United Civil Party, said: "The 
authorities have resorted to extreme measures.

"By doing this, they are showing to the world that Belarus is a dictatorship 
with no freedom of speech nor freedom to gather."

'Freedom Day'

The rally was staged to mark the anniversary of the brief period of 
independence declared in Belarus in 1918. March 25 - referred to as Freedom 
Day by the opposition - has long been a day of protest.

Demonstrators waved the country's red and white striped pre-Soviet era flag 
and the blue and gold-starred banner of the European Union.
"By doing this, they are showing to the world that Belarus is a dictatorship 
with no freedom of speech nor freedom to gather"

Anatoly Lebedko, opposition leader
Some shouted "fascists" and "shame" at the police.

Later, hundreds of people broke off from the main protest and tried to march 
down a central street to the presidential administration building.

The road was blocked by police trucks and officers in riot gear, who also 
carried protesters away into waiting police trucks.

The interior ministry said about 80 people were detained, according to the 
Interfax news agency.

But an official from the Belarusian Helsinki Group, a human rights body, 
told the AFP news agency that the number was more like 100 activists.

Opposition groups reported that security agents arrested activists across 
the country before Tuesday's demonstrations and closed bus and underground 
stations near the scene of the demonstration.

A spokesman for the Belarusian People's Front said that Ales Kalita, the 
leader of its youth wing, was one of several activists detained ahead of the 
demonstration.

Vladimir Naumov, the Belarus interior minister, said before the event: "Of 
course today more forces and equipment will be deployed. Any unsanctioned 
march will be prevented in accordance with the necessary laws."

http://naviny.by/rubrics/inter/2008/01/21/ic_articles_259_155089/

Riot police break up unauthorized march in Minsk, some 10 people reported 
arrested
21.01 // 17:14 // English

Police in riot control gear broke up a march that hundreds sole 
entrepreneurs and sympathizers staged through Minsk on Monday afternoon.

The protesters were forced out of Independence Square, where they had 
arrived to demand a meeting with Prime Minister Syarhey Sidorski, and then 
split into several groups and scattered by riot police. Some 10 people were 
said to have been arrested.

An estimated crowd of between 1,500 and 2,000 marched on the House of 
Government after an unauthorized rally held at Kastrychnitskaya Square in 
protest against the government's restrictive policy toward sole 
entrepreneurs.

The protesters walked on sidewalks along Independence Avenue but entered the 
road at the busy intersection between the city's thoroughfare and Lenin 
Street, bringing traffic to a halt. However, policemen pushed the crowd back 
to the sidewalk.

Armored police prisoner vans followed the protesters as they continued 
moving toward Independence Square, where the House of Government is located.

As the crowd reached the square, they were confronted by a heavy police 
presence. Speaking through a loudspeaker, Interior Minister Uladzimir 
Navumaw accused the demonstrators of "paralyzing the entire city" and warned 
that police would use force if the crowd did not disperse within 10 minutes.

The protesters were then forced out of the square and turned their way back. 
At least three demonstrators were grabbed and bundled into police vehicles 
as police cleared the square.
The crowd marched just a few dozen meters when they were separated into 
several groups and dispersed.

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/10_000_protest_against_Georgia_gove_02152008.html

10,000 protest against Georgia government

Published: Friday February 15, 2008

About 10,000 opposition protesters demonstrated in Georgia's capital Tbilisi 
on Friday calling for concessions from the government ahead of parliamentary 
elections in the ex-Soviet state.
At the demonstration in front of parliament, opposition leaders called for 
greater independence for public television and the resignation of the head 
of the electoral commission, who the opposition sees as too close to the 
government.
"We have restarted permanent demonstrations to force the authorities to 
satisfy our demands," said Levan Gachechiladze, who lost to President 
Mikheil Saakashvili in a January 5 election.
"I call on all Georgians to gather and show the authorities the strength of 
our determination to defend democracy," he said.
Opposition leader Zviad Dzidziguri told the crowd "everything is false in 
Georgia -- false democracy, a false and illegitimate president, a false 
judiciary, false media freedom."
"We demand true democracy, free and fair elections, free media and an 
independent judiciary," said Dzidziguri.
Among the protesters, 46-year-old Maya Vashnadze told AFP "we want to show 
that Georgia is ready to rejoin the family of democratic European nations."
A member of the opposition Conservative party, Kakha Kukava, announced that 
opposition parties, which share a broadly pro-Western agenda, would run on a 
joint ticket at the parliamentary polls expected in May.
The opposition is also demanding the release of people it says were jailed 
during anti-government protests in November that led to a nine-day state of 
emergency and the holding of early presidential polls.
While Saakashvili has offered some concessions, the opposition say these 
fall short.
The opposition also disputes the results of the January presidential 
election, at which Saakashvili was awarded 53.5 percent.
However international observers from the Organisation for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe gave the polls a clean bill of health.
Friday's demonstration passed off peacefully, with the protesters dispersing 
in the late afternoon.
Opposition spokeswoman Nino Sturua said the coalition would organise a 
nationwide hunger strike starting on February 22.