YEREVAN, MARCH 1, ARMENPRESS. My Step faction of the Armenian Parliament considers a historical imperative to hold the guilty ones accountable based on the comprehensive, full and objective investigation of the 2008 March 1 events, reports Armenpres.

The faction issued a statement on the 11^th anniversary of the 2008 March 1 events.

“My Step faction highlighted the need to guarantee the exercise of right of holding peaceful rallies in Armenia, valued the establishment of public solidarity, strongly condemned the actions of the authorities in 2008 aimed at repressing the peaceful demonstration of the citizens which was connected with the distrust towards the presidential election during which according to the official data 10 people have been killed, hundreds of citizens were injured”, the statement said.

The faction stated that making the guilty ones responsible will be a message to all leaderships of Armenia to rule out the repetition of one of the black pages in the country’s new history, restore justice and solidarity, as well as strengthen democracy.

The faction also attached importance to providing fair compensation to the injured and victims’ successors, and considered the protection of the right to life the key duty of the state.

The March 1 events colloquially refer to the 2008 post-election unrest in Yerevan, when clashes between security forces and protesters left 10 people, including two security officers dead. The unrest spanned from late February until late March. The events are known simply as March First because it was on this day when police troops violently dispersed protesters in downtown Yerevan.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan