Published since 07.2002
Published on May 02, 2008
REVIEW AND DISSENT: OMBUDSMAN’S REPORT CONTINUES MARCH 1 DEBATE OF CIRCUMSTANCES
- Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Armen Harutyunyan, who until recently was not distinguished by a particularly critical attitude to the internal political situation in the country, triggered considerable passion with his late-April ad-hoc report, giving rise to speculations and discussions. In a 68-page report consisting of four parts, the ombudsman, at times from quite a critical perspective, presents a detailed overview of the period from the pre-election time to the bloody March 1 events and the period after that, speaking about the importance of “establishing an independent commission to look into the March 1 events” at the same time placing strong accents regarding former president Robert Kocharyan. “The newly elected president and the new government system being formed received very heavy legacy from the predecessors,” the report says. “Of course, it would be desirable if that legacy wasn’t that heavy. But we have what we have and all of us together have to overcome this situation.” March 1 events that made the international community turn its head to post-election Armenia going through the most serious internal political developments gave occasion for the government and the opposition to blame each other for what happened. “These are the toughest possible estimations,” Armenia’s former Ombudsperson, member of the opposition Heritage party’s parliamentary faction Larisa Alaverdyan said in an interview with ArmeniaNow. “On the whole I positively assess the report, however I would like to single out, in particular, the analysis of March 1 and the days that followed in legal terms.” Referring to the March 1 pre-dawn events, the ombudsman raises numerous questions, saying that the link between the morning and afternoon events is obvious. “According to the March 1 report of the Prosecutor-General’s Office, hand-grenades were found in Liberty Square in the morning, which leads to a question as to why they weren’t used. If, as the Public Television presents, fleeing protesters left guns behind them, then how did it happen that during their dispersal accompanied with beatings and resistance, there was not a single shot fired. It is at least strange that policemen touched the found weapons with bare hands, which was shown on Public Television on March 1. We think that the traces existing on the weapons were removed in consequence of those policemen’s negligence,” the report says. Regarding the dispersal of the sit-in protest in pre-dawn hours of March 1 from the legal point of view, the ombudsman says that before the forcible termination of the public event a police representative was obliged to inform participants of a public rally at least twice using loudspeakers about the demand for the public event to be stopped. “However, no such demand was presented on March 1 morning. Moreover, no time was given to protesters to stop the rally. According to eyewitness accounts, protesters did not even have an opportunity to break out of the encirclement,” the report says, raising a number of other questions as well. Despite numerous sharp corners, the retired president’s press secretary Arman Musinyan is not particularly enthused by the report’s “tough estimations”. “The report, which is rather vague, does everything to clean Serzh Sargsyan,” Musinyan told ArmeniaNow. “Serzh Sargsyan is absent from the whole report. Where was that person? He at least bears political responsibility. They stained Kocharyan, but isn’t Serzh at fault? This report puts responsibility for March 1 on Robert Kocharyan. If you are an ‘elected’ president and a slaughter is committed in your country and you keep silent for at least several days, it cannot be regarded as normal.” Alaverdyan, like Musinyan, points out the circumstance that special attention in the report is paid to Kocharyan. “The emphasis is already on the retired president, however we should also have seen here the National Assembly chairman, National Security structures, the then prime minister and incumbent president,” Alaverdyan says. Lawmaker from the governing Republican Party of Armenia Armen Ashotyan, concurrent with international structures, says that only an independent investigation can give answers to questions. “For example, I am glad of the fact that the ombudsman published a report many of whose provisions do not correspond to the government’s opinions and arguments,” Ashotyan tells ArmeniaNow. “And opposition commentaries are clear to me. If tomorrow Serzh Sargsyan walks on the water of Lake Sevan, they will not regard it as an advantage, but will announce to all that the president can’t swim.” Hanrapetutyun party’s political council Suren Surenyants finds that in all senses the report containing “tough estimations” can have only a positive influence, particularly for international structures. “The report in the main has reflected what is there in reality,” Surenyants says. “The stage that the report deals with concerned Robert Kocharyan’s stint and it would be odd if his name had not been mentioned. Politics does not accept ‘ifs’. If there is an intent to clean someone’s name or a similar game in all this, it will become known and we will give an adequate evaluation to this.” On March 5, during a state of emergency imposed in the aftermath of post-election violence, Kocharyan expressed his discontent with the ombudsman. “The appointment of the ombudsman was one of my most unsuccessful personnel proposals,” Kocharyan said at a press conference, adding that Harutyunyan is unaware of the situation. “One needs to have a sense of responsibility and realize that after all he is a citizen of Armenia and not a bureaucrat in Strasbourg.” Full text of the report in Armenian and its summary in English are available at www.ombuds.am
- Marianna Grigoryan
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© AUA
Today in Armenian history- 1219 Death of Armenian King Levon the Second (Kingdom of Cilicia).
- 1817 General Yermolov, Commander of the Caucasian forces and Governor of the Caucasus, stops in Echmiadsin on his way to a mission in Persia.
- 1869 Death of the Armenologist Victor Langlois. He translated Armenian historical sources into French under the sponsorship of Noobar Pasha.
- 1900 Death of Hovhannes Aivazovsky (seascape artist) in Feodosia (the Ukraine). He was born in 1817.
- 1916 The "France-Armenie" committee is organized in Paris. Members of the Academy and other political figures are members.
- 1917 The First Assembly of Western Armenians opens in Yerevan under the Presidency of General Andranik.
- 1919 The Publication of Constantinople's Extraordinary Military Tribunal's decision about the perpetrators of the deportations of Booyook Dere's (Constantinople's district) Armenian population.
- 1930 Creation of the Kanaker Power Station.
- 1965 Death of Hrachia Kochar (writer and public figure). He was born in 1909.
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