PROCEDURE OR “PERSECUTION”: COMPANIES FRIENDLY TO TER-PETROSYAN GET UNEXPECTED VISITS FROM TAX OFFICIALS
- Armenia’s first president Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s return to politics was officially launched by his dramatic October 26 speech in Freedom Square. Ter-Petrosyan marked his return to politics by sharp criticism of the acting authorities, including complaints about tax management and claims of economic growth that he called “fiction”.
In reply, authorities representing Ter-Petrosyan’s main opponent, Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, denied Ter-Petrosyan air time and commented that the first president’s speech was of no more interest than any ordinary oppositionist – no more of interest to them than the rising cost of living in Armenia.
Political analysts, however, say actions are louder than words when it comes to the ruling regime’s real response.
“Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s return grants the opposition a unique opportunity for self-expression and activity,” says the member of Republic Political Party, political analyst Suren Surenyants.
However, before the opposition would start to show real activity, that activity began not only in the political field.
The government-adjunct State Tax Service started thorough checkups of businesses favoring Ter-Petrosyan.
Since October tax “checkups” have started at Gyumri’s GALA TV- the only TV company that dared to broadcast a speech Ter-Petrosyan’s made at a party meeting on September 21, in which he called acting authorities as “corrupt and Mafiosi”.
According to the head of GALA TV Vahan Khachatryan, right after the speech he received numerous warnings from the National Security Service and ruling circles to stop giving Ter-Petrosyan airtime.
“I do not have any political orientation,” Khachatryan told ArmeniaNow, confirming that the company’s coverage of the opposition’s viewpoints is indeed the reason of their current persecution. “However, I will not allow anybody to interfere with the TV company’s editorial policy. We will show the public all the developments taking place in our country.”
The further developments interesting to the public continued in early November, when inspection started at the Bjni mineral water plant belonging to MP Khachatur Sukiasyan as well as at other companies belonging to the Sukiasyan family.
The checkups, nonetheless, were not so unexpected. The news about possible inspections and even arrests at “Sil Concern” were speculated upon already in late September when one of Armenia’s most successful businessmen, the founding director of “Sil Concern”, Sukiasyan, stood beside Ter-Petrosyan, not concealing his political preference.
“I will always be by Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s side,” Sukiasyan told media. Indeed, the tycoon was in the front line on October 26 during the largest opposition rally of recent years. “I am prepared for persecutions. When your choice is ideological, when you are certain that your choice is right, then you are ready. I will take any pressure, any persecution with pleasure.”
The “persecutions” started on November 5, when a few dozens of the RA Tax Service and RA Police officers, without prior notice, intruded into the Bjni mineral water plant belonging to Sukiasyan and started their inspection as a result of which over a dozen of the plant employees as well as 7 out 14 delivery cars were taken to the police station.
“Tax inspections always occur,” Sil Concern press secretary Anna Mkrtchyan. told ArmeniaNow. “This time the inspections are accompanied by different kinds of illegal activities, for example, computers, register books and documents have been confiscated that have not been returned until now with no proper grounding. Our activity is paralyzed now.”
RA State Tax Service told ArmeniaNow there is nothing “illegal” in their activities.
“We do not have any order from the authorities. We are carrying out a scheduled inspection and in about a week we’ll inform the press about the inspection results of that controversial case as well as the results of the checkups at Gyumri’s GALA TV company,” Anna Baghdasaryan of the RA State Tax Service press department told ArmeniaNow.
According to political analyst Aghasi Yenokyan, though, by this step the authorities are trying to implant an atmosphere of fear in entrepreneurs so that they don’t even think about following Sukiasyan’s example and join the first president, which, Yenokyan thinks, has apparently “scared the authorities”.
However, Sukiasyan assures that they are not frightened and will continue their struggle within the law.
“I will fight till the end for my rights, for building a state of law, preserving my political views,” says Sukiasyan, not excluding the probability of taking the struggle up to the European Court.
“I think this is the authorities’ traditional style, and we shouldn’t be surprised,” the leader of the National Democratic party Shavarsh Kocharyan told ArmeniaNow. “It’s their [the authorities’] special handwriting; they always turn to such measures in similar cases. We should have gotten used to it by now.”
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