By Hasmik Mkrtchyan
YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenia's opposition called on itssupporters to hold a new protest on Saturday, hours afterbaton-wielding police broke up its 10-day sit-in, drawing arebuke from Europe's main democracy and security watchdog.
Several thousand opposition supporters had protested dailyin Yerevan's Freedom Square since Prime Minister Serzh Sarksyanwas elected to replace his ally Robert Kocharyan as presidentin a February 19 vote, seen as rigged by the opposition.
Riot police moved into the square early on Saturday afterauthorities warned they were losing patience with the protestsled by Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia's first president afterindependence from the Soviet Union who ran against Sarksyan.
Several hours later, hundreds of opposition supporters werepouring into a diplomatic area off the city centre fallowing acall from Ter-Petrosyan's headquarters to hold a peacefulrally.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europesaid it "condemned the use of force against peacefuldemonstrators".
"I urge the authorities to use maximum restraint," OSCEChairman-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva,said in a statement.
"I am troubled that there are reports of casualties. I urgethe authorities to release those detained, and I again call onthe government and the opposition to engage in dialogue."
COUP ATTEMPT?
Police said they moved in after receiving information acoup was being prepared. In a statement, they said they hadseized pistols and grenades.
One of Ter-Petrosyan's top allies dismissed this. "Thisinformation totally contradicts the reality," StepanDemirchayn, leader of the opposition People's Party, toldReuters. "We use only peaceful means, and Ter-Petrosyan hasreiterated this."
A Reuters correspondent saw two police cars with smashedwindows and flat tyres near the venue of the planned rally.
The protests had risked destabilising Armenia, an ex-Sovietrepublic of 3.22 million people in the Caucasus mountains thatis now emerging as a key transit route for oil and gas suppliesfrom the Caspian Sea to world markets.
Disputed presidential elections sparked mass unrest in twoother former Soviet republics, Georgia and Ukraine, thatultimately toppled two long-serving leaders.
"Permission or no permission (from the authorities), wewill all the same press ahead with protests, because ralliesand marches can only be banned when there is a state ofemergency," Ter-Petrosyan told reporters.
"I am deeply convinced that even if Sarksyan stays on, hewon't be a legitimate president," he said. "I have no doubt thepeople won't tolerate this."
Police said they moved in after being told that oppositionprotesters had been waiting to receive "large amounts offirearms, grenades, metal rods and truncheons."
Police said they had used force after protesters startedthrowing stones and metal rods at them.
"Calls for a violent coup were heard," the statement said."The situation in the capital is fully under control."
Armenia's Health Ministry said 31 people, including sixpolice officers, had been admitted to hospital after theclashes, Russian news agency reported.
Landlocked Armenia is still officially at war withneighbouring Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.Oil and gas pipelines operated by a BP-led consortium runthrough Azeri territory a few km (miles) from the conflictzone.
Ter-Petrosyan launched the protests after alleging Sarksyanhad used ballot-stuffing and intimidation to steal victory.Western observers called the vote broadly fair.
(Writing by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
