ARMENIAN POLICE VOW TO SOLVE DEADLY SHOOTING
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
April 4 2007
The chief of the Armenian police pledged Wednesday to save no effort
to find and punish the perpetrators of a failed attempt on the life of
Gyumri Mayor Vartan Ghukasian, saying that at stake is the credibility
of the country’s security apparatus.
"This is a very impudent crime," Lieutenant-General Hayk Harutiunian
said of Monday’s late-night armed attack that left Ghukasian seriously
wounded and killed three of his bodyguards. The mayor’s deputy and
driver were also wounded and hospitalized.
"I consider it a gauntlet thrown down to us law-enforcers," Harutiunian
told RFE/RL. "The police have picked up the gauntlet and will do
everything to identify and punish the criminals. Nobody should
doubt that."
A convoy of two cars carrying Ghukasian, his top aides and security
guards came under fire shortly after it left Yerevan for Gyumri. The
official was returning to Armenia’s second largest city after attending
a meeting of the leadership of the governing Republican Party (HHK),
of which he is a member.
Armenia’s Police Service, National Security Service and Office of the
Prosecutor-General promptly launched a joint criminal investigation
into the deadly shooting. President Robert Kocharian told the heads of
the three law-enforcement on Tuesday to take "all necessary measures"
to solve the crime. No arrests have been reported so far.
"Nothing has been cleared up," admitted Harutiunian. "There are
definitely theories [of the crime] but we do want to publicize them,"
he added.
A spokeswoman for the Prosecutor-General’s Office likewise said
that the investigators are examining several different theories,
but refused to give details. It is not clear whether they think
the shooting may have had any connection with Armenia’s upcoming
parliamentary elections.
The Armenian police and prosecutors were already under fire over a
series of high-profile killings committed in broad daylight last
year. Among their victims were a senior member of the Yerkrapah
Union of Nagorno-Karabakh war veterans, a reputed crime figure, and a
high-ranking tax official. None of those killings have been solved yet.
Meanwhile, Kocharian visited on Wednesday a Yerevan hospital where
Ghukasian underwent surgery after being wounded in the abdomen.
According to the presidential press service, Kocharian spoke with
the wounded mayor and wished him a speedy recovery.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
