ARMENIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE WILL TURN TO EXAMINATION
Lragir, Armenia
Dec 18 2007
On December 18 the leader of the National Democratic Union Vagzen
Manukyan, a presidential candidate, stated at the Hayeli press club
the document cited by the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper in an article
on December 15 is not his handwriting, and he is likely to turn to
experts to prove that.
"The style of this article outdid the articles of 1937 about the
foes of the nation, when libels were written about everyone. It is
horrible that such articles still appear in Armenia. The handwriting
is ascribed to me, I will have it examined and prove that it is not
my handwriting, and I will rid of it. But this poison will affect the
society. Will an election based on this poison lead anywhere?" asks
Vazgen Manukyan, saying that the team which published this article
used to work against him in 1996 with the same method when this team
was government, and he was the oppositionist presidential candidate.
"They used the same poison in 1996 through television. It was a
climate of poison. They controlled the army, the criminal world,
the ministry of internal affairs, the money, the local governments,
and they lost. Can they win now with ten times less force? It is
impossible. What will it lead to? As a result part of the votes of
the opposition wil go to the government," Vazgen Manukyan says.
According to him, the political force uses the method through which it
comes to power in government as well. Vazgen Manukyan says he appeals
to Levon Ter-Petrosyan who published this article not to take the
track for poison. "It will not lead them anywhere, it will not lead
Armenia anywhere," says the leader of the NDU. At the same time, he
appeals to the society not to tolerate this approach toward struggle.
The reporters reminded Vazgen Manukyan that the handwritten piece
pubished in the Haykakan Zhamanak had been published earlier in 1996,
and 2001. They asked Vazgen Manukyan why at that time he did not
have it examined. The leader of the NDU said in 1996 the government
published it in the 02 newspaper which belonged to the ministry of
internal affairs led by Vano Siradeghyan. But at that time it aroused
a smile in the society. As to 2001, he says he is not aware of such
publications.
However, even if there were such, he did not have the piece of
handwriting examined because it was not worthwhile then, but now
they are using it against him, to denigrate him as a presidential
candidate, and he decided to put an end to it. "That’s enough,"
Vazgen Manukyan says.