"ARSEN KHARATIAN WAS A TARGET"
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[03:11 pm] 29 May, 2008
On May 28, at about 14:00 three strangers severely beat Arsen
Kharatian, one of the leaders of "Hima" youth movement.
A few days ago Arsen was called up by a gentleman who introduced
himself as a reporter of "Life" journal and invited Kharatian
to an interview. Kharatian agreed and on May 28 went to meet the
correspondent as arranged. Minutes later he was hit on the head from
behind (quite possibly with an iron instrument) and was severely beaten
by three strangers who later fled from the site. Arsen Kharatian was
taken to the ICU unit of Nor Nork Emergency Hospital, with severe
head injuries, and is presently under close medical supervision.
Cases of aggression and assault against opposition activists
are not uncommon in Armenia. Last week, Michael Danielian, head
of the Armenian Helsinki Association, was shot point blank from
a pneumatic rifle by a leader of a pro-governmental party, who
then bragged about it in a press conference later that day. The
case was documented and reported by Human Rights Watch on May
22, 2008 (Armenia: Leading Human Rights Defender Assaulted,
armeni18918.htm)
The assault on Arsen Kharatian reminds of a very similar attack
in 2004 on prominent opposition figure Ashot Manucharian, who
was assaulted and beaten in one of the streets in Yerevan, while
walking home from a routine day on April 22, 2004. Mr. Manucharian
had severe head injuries, and had to take a long recovery
in the hospital. That case too was documented and reported
by world human rights community and major news organizations
(Prominent Oppositionist Beaten up as Police Resume Mass Arrests,
rt/en/2004/04/0b4b65db-4b54-448f-a2ec-72e43404a177 .asp).
The attack against Arsen Kharatian, a well-known and highly respected
youth leader, has given rise to tensions in Armenia’s capital city and
across the nation, characterizing the attitude of the general public
towards the authorities, while Armenia faces its worst governance and
democracy crisis since independence in 1991. At the times when many
opposition leaders went into hiding, were arrested or had restricted
power to act, the youth movements took leadership, and using new
ideas and innovative means of political struggle became the real
leaders of the national movement.
Currently as the new wave of national struggle is rising, the criminal
groups ruling Armenia, intensify the terrorist campaign against the
youth leaders.
Their aim is to stop the national movement by rooting an atmosphere
of fear in the society.
"We assess the recurrent terrorist act as the authorities’ response to
the intensification of the national movement and as a regular attempt
to terrify the movement activists. This time the target was our
friend Arsen Kharatian, who is known as an advocate of human rights
protection, a straightforward man and a nation-oriented citizen",
the "Hima" announcement says.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
