POLITICIANS MUST BE TREATED WITH RESPECT, GURGEN ARSENIAN SAYS

Noyan Tapan
Apr 26 2007

YEREVAN, APRIL 26, NOYAN TAPAN. A politician has a right to say what
he says, and mass media has a right to publish what it publishes. At
the April 26 press conference, Gurgen Arsenian, the Chairman of the
United Labour Party (ULP) responded in this way the publication of
the short-hand record of the conversation between Orinats Yerkir
(Country of Law) party head Artur Baghdasarian and British diplomate.

In G. Arsenian’s words, public political activity involves work with
different structures as well, and implementation of overhearings does
not assist working out of political atmosphere in Armenia.

In his words, nobody may insist that the OYP head or Golos Armenii
(Voice of Armenia) editorial staff do not feel sorrow for the
Fatherland. The issue is what response the politician’s actions and
the information published by mass media will get by the public. In
G. Arsenian’s opinion, the public must have possibility to get
information and come to the conclusions but those conclusions must
not be directed or obliged.

As for overhearings, in the ULP head’s opinion, there is no country
where secret services do not implement similar actions, but it must
be done in the case of existence of necessary bases and not limit
the human rights. He did not exclude that the story connected with
the OYP Chairman may be a display of black PR, especially that the
conversation was recorded much earlier than published. "Politicians
of Armenia must be treated with respect. They are our citizens, and
they may not be divided into black and white ones, or classified to
ones of the first and second category," G. Arsenian mentioned.