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YEREVAN, MARCH 6, ARMENPRESS:President Robert Kocharian declared at a press conference in Yerevan on Wednesday that imposing a state of emergency in Yerevan on March 1st was a “necessity.” According to him, otherwise the number of the killed and wounded would be greater, and the consequences of the unrest would be heavier. The President reminded that the state of emergency was declared on March 1 for the term of 20 days and said he does not see the necessity of prolonging or reducing the term. Robert Kocharian underlined that he will not lift the state of emergency unless he is confident that the participants of the illegal actions are arrested and the will not be attempts to destabilize the situation once again. Robert Kocharian said the law-enforcement bodies have a number of materials, including videos, and “the picture of events of March 1st will be restored minute by minute.” According to him, the volume of the initiated criminal case is “huge,” and the investigating group will have to “work day and night.” “Upon my order representatives of the law-enforcement bodies will inform on the process of investigation every day,” Robert Kocharian stated. The Armenian President stated that the people included in the criminal case may be divided into three conditional groups: organizers, members of groups, who committed attacks on policemen, and participants of the rally, who participated in the robbery of the shops. “It is obvious that the level of guilt of the organizers, instigators of unrest and the ordinary participants is different, and the attitude of the law-enforcement bodies to them will be different. However, it will be the greatest unfairness if in the first place the organizers and the instigators of the unrest are not found and held accountable,” the Armenian President stated. “It is natural that special attitude will be demonstrated towards those who used arms and explosives against policemen,” Robert Kocharian stated. President Robert Kocharian stated that Levon Ter-Petrosian repeatedly turned down the proposals of the authorities for a dialogue. The President stressed that after the unrest organized by the supporters of Ter-Petrosian on March 1st, “the process passed from the political framework to the legal one.” Robert Kocharian reminded that at his rallies Ter-Petrosian rejected any possibility of a dialogue with the authorities. The President reminded that right after the elections, President-elect Serge Sarkisian stated his readiness to cooperate with all the political forces, “and everybody responded to the given proposal, except for Ter-Petrosian.” The Armenian President described as “not corresponding to reality” the statement of Levon Ter-Petrosian, according to which in the evening of March 1st he held talks with the authorities, who refused to fulfill his demands. “Through the Head of State Protection Service Grigori Sarkisian Levon Ter- Petrosian stated that he agreed to go and calm his supporters down, who had gathered at the square in front of the City Hall, if we fulfilled his conditions. The conditions included: taking his supporters through the center of the city to the Opera Square, continuing the rally and receiving guarantees of unhindered conduct of the rally for 15 days. That is to say, it was an ultimatum,” Robert Kocharian stated. The President noted that by the time, when Ter-Petrosian voiced his conditions, the crowd of his supporters had already burnt a few dozens of cars and attacked policemen. “Imagine what would happen, if we allowed that crowd to move to the Opera Square through the center of the city,” Robert Kocharian stated. The President noted that Ter-Petrosian was notified that he was free to join his supporters without any limitations. “His guards are officers of the State Protection Service, who could not participate in an illegal event,” Robert Kocharian stated. The President reminded also that Levon Ter-Petrosian did not let the Catholicos of All Armenians Karekin II into his house late on March 1st. “The Catholicos called me and, stating his deep concern, stated that he intends to pay a visit to Ter-Petrosian. I said that I could only welcome such initiative. However, as you know, Ter-Petrosian did not let him in. To tell the truth, I can hardly imagine a situation, when an Armenian, wherever he is, would be able not to allow the Head of the Armenian Church into his house,” Robert Kocharian stated. President Robert Kocharian declared that the authorities did not plan to disperse the rally of Ter-Petrosian’s supporters at the Opera Square on March 1st. Robert Kocharian stated that the policemen entered the Square early in the morning with the request to carry out a search. According to the President, the decision on emptying the square from the demonstrators was made as a result of furious resistance of the rally participants. “I often ask myself a question: maybe one should hot have tolerated the illegal rally for ten days? I think that if the square was emptied on the second day, or the third, we would have avoided the consequences we have today. However, the authorities did not take that step, since recount of votes was in process, and actions with the use of force could have been interpreted as pressure. We planned to take up active actions only in case the illegal rallies continued after the verdict of the Constitutional Court,” the Armenian President stated. Commenting on the words of Levon Ter-Petrosian, according to which after March 21 he plans to continue the struggle by means of holding rallies and demonstrations, Robert Kocharian stated that “in case of unsanctioned actions, we will respond strictly and immediately.”