By KUNA
Brussels : The European Union voiced Wednesday its concern about the situation in Armenia and called on the Armenian authorities to lift the state of emergency.
An EU Presidency statement Wednesday night expressed “particular concern” about reports of continuing arrests and called on Armenian authorities to release citizens detained in connection with their political activities and to refrain from further arrests of opposition leaders.
Armenian authorities arrested two leading opposition figures on Tuesday for alleged participation in violent protests.
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan imposed emergency rule on March 1 after clashes between police and protesters killed eight people.
Opposition leaders say that voting in last month’s presidential election was rigged in favor of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisyan, who won the elections against former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan.
The EU is calling for an independent investigation of the events of 1 March and what led to them and urging all political parties to engage in political dialogue to arrive at a political solution to the present situation.