TER-PETROSYAN AND THE `POLITICAL PRISONERS’
VREJ AHARONYAN

Hayots Ashkhar Daily
Published on May 23, 2008
Armenia

Judging from all Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s team is trying to use the
so-called issue of the `political prisoners’ as a `political cudgel’
towards Armenia.

In general Ter-Petrosyan can very easily sacrifice his partners, using
the emotions of their relatives for his own political purposes. In
essence he is absolutely not interested in what condition his detained
partners are, whether or not their family members have financial,
health or any other problems.

During his conversations with his friends he has many times mentioned:
`Of course they must be detained. They should spend some one-two years
in the prison. The more detainees the worse for the ruling authorities
and the better for us.’

But the fact that he instigated many people to commit crimes and that
at the moment they will have to return an answer is not a matter of
concern for Levon Ter-Petrosyan. What he wants is to see lots of
`political prisoners’ in Armenia, especially among his activists.

If Levon Ter-Petrosyan was really interested in the issue of the
detainees, why didn’t he visit their families, why doesn’t he
participate in the protests organized by the relatives of the
detainees, and finally why didn’t they raise a `fund for the support of
the families of the detained?’

Instead Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters, by the instruction of the boss,
decided to organize a `universal hunger strike’ paying no heed to the
health condition of the detainees. They also wanted to set up a
`committee of political prisoners’ but of course they failed.

Whereas, the lawyers say, lots of detainees are very much upset about
Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s indifference towards them. They have addressed
Levon Ter-Petrosyan, through their lawyers asking: ‘How long will this
continue? You deliver speeches, but day by day the law enforcers
substantiate our guilt.’

There are sufficient facts that many of the detainees are ready to
admit their guilt in the court and very soon will be released due to
accelerated court procedure.

Ter-Petrosyan’s team, of course, has a very negative attitude towards
this fact and they call these people `traitors’. But why? Why should
these people solve political issues for Levon Ter-Petrosyan? But the
boss is absolutely not concerned about the health and financial
condition of those detainees and their families.

By the way, it’s worth mentioning that Levon Ter-Petrosyan refused the
idea of raising a fund for the `political prisoners’, which was
approved by many detainees. This is how he substantiated his refusal:
`If we raise such fund, it will mean that we admit their crime that’s
why we are taking measures to help them.’

Thus, judging from Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s logic the activists must be
detained as long as possible, which will give him a very good chance to
blackmail the international organizations and Armenian ruling
authorities, by the issue of the `political prisoners’.

So, Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s appeal to release the `political prisoners’
is nothing more than eyewash. In reality what he wants is to see lots
of prisoners in the prison, so that he can permanently demand to
release these prisoners.’