PRESS RELEASE
The Heritage Party
7 Vazgen Sargsian Street
Yerevan 0010, Armenia
Tel.: (+374 – 10) 58.08.77, 52.22.38
Fax: (+374 – 10) 54.38.97
Email: info@heritage.am; office@heritage.am
Website:

May 30, 2006

HERITAGE HEADQUARTERS FORCIBLY VACATED, SEALED:
WHAT ARE THEY AFRAID OF?

Yerevan–Today at noon, as Raffi Hovannisian and his colleagues were at
work, the Heritage Party’s main office was surrounded and entered by a group
of 10 uniformed bailiffs from the Service for Mandatory Execution of
Judicial Acts (SMEJA) of the Ministry of Justice.

In an unprecedented and incredible reversal of their execution yesterday of
the Court’s April 14 injunction against the defendant theater’s restriction
of access to Hovannisian’s premises and property, and without further court
order, the ministry officials, led by Vahram Yenokian and joined by Yerevan’
s commando-clad “chief evicter” Tigran Tadevosian, forcibly vacated the
premises, evicting Hovannisian and his staff from the headquarters which has
been theirs for 12 years and which they had succeeded in reentering just
yesterday, nearly three months after its initial closure. All office doors,
external and internal, were then sealed.

As part of the official report prepared by Yenokian and his underlings,
Raffi Hovannisian recorded that “the instant operation by the SMEJA
bailiffs, who are supposed to be servants of the law, is illegal, a travesty
of civil rights and justice, and a sad reflection of the subservience of the
judiciary to the whims, caprices, and personal interests of the executive
branch of power, in particular the incumbent presidency. I am being
compelled to leave under the threat of force and against my will.”

Upon the formal closing of his office within 24 hours of its hopeful
reopening, Hovannisian condemned the petty, parochial fear that drives such
acts of lawless retribution across the Republic, and vowed to continue his
quest, together with his fellow citizens, to achieve a nation of laws,
rights, and dignity.

Founded in 2002, Heritage has regional divisions throughout the land. Its
central headquarters are located at 7 Vazgen Sargsian Street, Yerevan 0010,
Armenia, with telephone contact at (374-10) 580.877, fax at (374-10)
543.897, and email at info@heritage.am