“ARSEN KHARATIAN WAS A TARGET”

On May 28, at about 14:00 three strangers severely beat Arsen Kharatian, one of the leaders of “Hima” youth movement.
A few days ago Arsen was called up by a gentleman who introduced himself as a reporter of “Life” journal and invited Kharatian to an interview. Kharatian agreed and on May 28 went to meet the correspondent as arranged. Minutes later he was hit on the head from behind (quite possibly with an iron instrument) and was severely beaten by three strangers who later fled from the site. Arsen Kharatian was taken to the ICU unit of Nor Nork Emergency Hospital, with severe head injuries, and is presently under close medical supervision.
Cases of aggression and assault against opposition activists are not uncommon in Armenia. Last week, Michael Danielian, head of the Armenian Helsinki Association, was shot point blank from a pneumatic rifle by a leader of a pro-governmental party, who then bragged about it in a press conference later that day. The case was documented and reported by Human Rights Watch on May 22, 2008 (Armenia: Leading Human Rights Defender Assaulted, http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/05/22/armeni18918.htm)
The assault on Arsen Kharatian reminds of a very similar attack in 2004 on prominent opposition figure Ashot Manucharian, who was assaulted and beaten in one of the streets in Yerevan, while walking home from a routine day on April 22, 2004. Mr. Manucharian had severe head injuries, and had to take a long recovery in the hospital. That case too was documented and reported by world human rights community and major news organizations (Prominent Oppositionist Beaten up as Police Resume Mass Arrests, www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/en/2004/04/0b4b65db-4b54-448f-a2ec-72e43404a177.asp).
The attack against Arsen Kharatian, a well-known and highly respected youth leader, has given rise to tensions in Armenia’s capital city and across the nation, characterizing the attitude of the general public towards the authorities, while Armenia faces its worst governance and democracy crisis since independence in 1991. At the times when many opposition leaders went into hiding, were arrested or had restricted power to act, the youth movements took leadership, and using new ideas and innovative means of political struggle became the real leaders of the national movement.
Currently as the new wave of national struggle is rising, the criminal groups ruling Armenia, intensify the terrorist campaign against the youth leaders. Their aim is to stop the national movement by rooting an atmosphere of fear in the society.
“We assess the recurrent terrorist act as the authorities’ response to the intensification of the national movement and as a regular attempt to terrify the movement activists. This time the target was our friend Arsen Kharatian, who is known as an advocate of human rights protection, a straightforward man and a nation-oriented citizen”, the “Hima” announcement says.

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