ARMENIAN OPPOSITION WANTS TO TAKE FORMER PRESIDENT KOCHARIAN TO INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

Interfax News Agency
July 14 2008
Russia

The Armenian opposition is planning to file a lawsuit against the
country’s former President Robert Kocharian with the International
Criminal Court at the Hague, former chief of the National Security
Service and member of the Panarmenian national movement David
Shakhnazarian told a press conference on Monday.

"We are beginning to gather signatures today so that the Kocharian
case is sent to the Hague court," said Shakhnazarian.

The documents where anyone can put his signature, say in particular
that, "Kocharian committed grave crimes against the Armenian political
system and the Armenian people."

The ex-president "who twice seized power in Armenia on the basis of
false documents has committed a grave crime of power usurpation,"
said the document’s authors.

"He consolidated his authoritarian rule by the shooting of the
parliament on October 27, 1999" and completed his presidency by
"the slaughter of March 1, 2008," the document says.

"There must be an independent international investigation of the March
1 crime, and the Kocharian case must be sent to the International
Criminal Court at the Hague," the opposition said.

After the presidential election of February 19, the Armenian
opposition led by another former president, Levon Ter-Petrosian,
rejected the results and staged massive protests. On March 1, the
protests degenerated into clashes with police, as a result of which
ten people were killed and over 250 injured.

The opposition has accused Kocharian of being behind the events that
led to human casualties.