ARMEN HARUTYUNIAN: OBJECTIONS OF PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE AND JUSTICE MINISTRY TO OMBUDSMAM’S REPORT PUT FORWARD NEW QUESTIONS
Noyan Tapan
Ju ne 6, 2008
YEREVAN, JUNE 6, NOYAN TAPAN. Instead of getting answers to the
questions of concern to the society, which were raised in his report,
the RA Ombudsman met objections of the RA prosecutor general’s
office and the ministry of justice. These objections did not remove
the concerns relating the questions in the report, instead, they put
forward new questions, the RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunian said at the
June 5 parliamentary hearings on his special public report on the
presidential election and postelection developments in Armenia. In
his words, the objections of the prosecutor’s office and the justice
ministry are full of distortions, and the authors of the objections
have repeatedly perverted the contents of his report, trying to avoid
answering the questions of the report by means of distracting stresses.
"Changing the form of the report’s questions, sometimes also developing
these questions, the authors of the objections raise questions not
reflected in the report and give detailed answers to them, thus
creating an illusion of reasonable objection".
The RA Ombudsman said that his report neither made any hint at nor
questioned knowledge and professionalism of a state body or official,
whereas both the texts of objections of the prosecutor’s office and
the justice minister and the television speches of representatives
of these departments contained a number of expressions which had
elements of personal insult and cast doubt on professional knowledge
and skills of the ombudsman.
"The style of these objections is directed against pluralism and
speech freedom, and the Armenian society is now facing an alternative:
either to develop in the direction of strengthening democratic values
and institutions or go along the path of strengthening or maintaining
the authoritarian tendencies of power, thus deepening the existing
barrier between the authorities and the majority of the society," the
ombudsman stated. In his opinion, the objections are reminiscent of
the best years of the Soviet Union: "it is a clash of world outlook
and mentality, and for this reason there was total intolerance –
instead of healthy discussion – in opposition to the report".
According to A. Harutyunian, they found in their archives a number
of applications of the first ombudsperson Larisa Alaverdian to the RA
prosecutor general, and several times the answer was: "You exceed your
powers". "The prosecutor’s office seems to have formed a precedent that
if omudsman puts a point-blank question, they certainly act in this
way," the Ombudsman said, asking by what authority the prosecutor’s
office makes accusations against the ombudsman.
A. Harutyunian did not accept the criticism that the Ombudsman did
not base his report on official sources, "they forget that ombudsman
is the only official who is obliged to be guided by unofficial
sources, otherwise, the Ombudsman will just represent on official
version". A. Harutyunian explained that the whole meaning of the
institution of omudsman is being an intermediary of the society and
authorities, the ombudsman officializes the questions that exist in
society and have not been answered.