Armenian opposition leader says police hunting him, other activists

Noyan Tapan news agency
15 Apr 04

YEREVAN

“Stability is impossible in the country under [Armenian President]
Robert Kocharyan, and unfair elections are the reason for this,” a
member of the political council of the Republic [Anrapetutyun] Party
and former prime minister, Aram Sarkisyan, has told journalists. He
said that the opposition planned to continue rallies and
demonstrations.

As for the opposition’s future moves, Aram Sarkisyan said that the
authorities “have no other methods but to use force, and if they
weaken the use of force, the entire power pyramid will collapse”. He
said that the dictatorship is being established with the help of the
police.

In connection with the prosecutor-general’s decision to summon MPs to
the police, Aram Sarkisyan said that “it is impossible to intimidate
them by summoning or arresting them”. He added that the members of the
Republic Party, Gegam Arutyunyan, Vagarshak Arutyunyan and his brother
Artur Arutyunyan, Aramazd Zakaryan, Suren Surenyants and others are
still under arrest.

Aram Sarkisyan also said that after the events of the night of 13
April on Bagramyan Avenue, several police groups have been hunting
opposition leaders. The internal troops, who were on guard in the
trial of his brother, Armen Sarkisyan [convicted of organizing the
murder of journalist Tigran Nagdalyan], have been hunting him
personally, Aram Sarkisyan added.

As for the criminal case against opposition MP Smbat Ayvazyan, Aram
Sarkisyan said: “I was simply shocked by this case invented by the
law-enforcement bodies. It became clear after my brother’s case that
they are brilliant inventors. It would be better if they wrote fairy
tales”. According to Aram Sarkisyan, he has personally asked Ayvazyan
to refrain from attending the 16 April rally.