THE END JUSTIFIED THE MEANS

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09-11-2004

Armenian Progressive Party and United Communist Party staged a protest
action on Tuesday against giving ArmenTel monopoly on IP telephony.

The protest action participants carried banners with “we demand
high-quality communication” written on them. They burned a huge
pasteboard telephone. Arshak Sadoyan, a devoted opposition activist
and MP was invited to the event.

Progressive Party’s deputy chair Sargis Harutyunyan was constantly
barring journalists from asking Sadoyan questions while protest was
under way. Sadoyan reacted angrily to Harutyunyan’s conduct. “If you
invited me, let me speak”, he said.

As it became clear later, the only aim of the action was to pursue
Sadoyan to reveal the name of a member of the cabinet ministers who
had been given a $7-million bribe by ArmenTel for retaining its sole
right to provide communication.

The opposition MP recently made the allegation without giving the
name of the bribe-taker.

The young provocateur’s instigation produced wanted effect. Using
pressure, he forced Sadoyan to name the corrupted minister. The
latter’s name was David Harutyunyan.

After extracting the stunning revelation from the opposition activist,
Sargis Harutyunyan said if Sadoyan doesn’t present convincing evidence
confirming his allegation before the end of the week, he will be
prosecuted for his libelous statement.

It is remarkable that both Progressive and Communist Parties have
supported current president Robert Kocharyan’s candidacy during the
2003 presidential elections.

Sadoyan admitted that the action initiators had accomplished a great
deal in carrying out their plan.

After the goal was achieved by using dishonest means, Harutyunyan
called on the action participants to go home.

The head of the party, Tigran Urikhanyan, was absent from the event
because of “health problems”.