Armenian president lambasts opposition

Armenia's president accused the opposition Saturday of trying to seize power in the small ex-Soviet nation as protests against alleged fraud in this week's presidential vote entered a fourth day.

"Our actions will be resolute and harsh and aimed at preserving stability and constitutional order," President Robert Kocharian said during a meeting with top law enforcement officials.

The opposition claims Tuesday's presidential vote was rigged and demands a recount.

Election officials said Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian — the favorite to succeed Kocharian — won the election with 53 percent of the vote while opposition candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian had 21 percent.

Thousands of opposition supporters have staged daily rallies in the capital since Wednesday and maintained overnight vigils since Thursday. They have set up about two dozen tents on the city's main square and built campfires to stay warm.

Several Armenian diplomats who expressed their support for the opposition were dismissed by Kocharian on Saturday. They included the ambassadors to Italy and Kyrgyzstan, the No. 2 at the Armenian Embassy in Ukraine and a deputy foreign minister.

The diplomats were dismissed after a statement they signed was read out to the protesters Saturday.

Ter-Petrosian denied the president's accusations that the opposition was planning to use force.

"We are for maintaining stability and will act within the law," he told journalists after a rally at which an estimated 30,000 protesters waved flags, raised clenched fists and shouted "Levon! Levon!"

Election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said there were concerns about the vote count, but issued a generally positive assessment.

The standoff has raised concerns about stability in the volatile, strategic country at the junction of the energy-rich Caspian Sea region and southern Europe, with Russia and Iran nearby.

Memories of economic hardships of the early 1990s and the devastating conflict with neighboring Azerbaijan over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh are still fresh. Many Armenians long for calm and stability.

Ter-Petrosian was Armenia's first president after its independence from the Soviet Union.