LEVON TER-PETROSIAN COMPARES EAVESDROPPING ON PHONE CALLS OF HIS HEADQUARTERS’ HEAD TO WATERGATE CASE
Noyan Tapan
Se p 3, 2008
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 3, NOYAN TAPAN. During the September 2 press
conference, the leader of the opposition, first president of Armenia
Levon Ter-Petrosian made public 3 documents in his possession, which,
according to him, are "very important for exposing the nature of the
monstrous conspiracy organized by the Armenian authorities against
the opposition". He said that at the same time these documents show
"the unbridled and sad state of negligence, ingnorance, professional
inferiority and unlawfulness that reigns in the sphere of justice."
The first document is related to the decision to control all phone
conversations of Alexander Arzumanian, the head of L. Ter-Petrosian’s
central headquarters, during the presidential election. The decision
was made by Judge Vardanian of Yerevan’s Kentron and Nork-Marash
court, who allowed the National Security Service to eavesdrop on all
conversations of A. Arzumanian. In the words of L. Ter-Petrosian,
taking into account the fact that A. Arzumanian was the head of
an election headquarters, the eavesdopping on his conversations
means that on the voting day the authorities controlled all the
events taking place in the opposition headquarters, including the
information given to empowered persons, observers and reporters and
the instructions concerning appeals. L. Ter-Petrosian considered the
indicated decision as a gross violation of the Constitution, which,
in his words, would have led to a national riot and a crisis of the
government in any normal country. He said that what happened does not
differ at all from the 1972 Watergate case whose disclosure resulted
in the resignation of the U.S. president Richard Nixon.
The second document presented by L. Ter-Petrosian is related to
the decision of the chief inspector of the RA Special Investigation
Service Vahagn Harutyunian. It is said in the decision that the police
began its operation in Liberty Square at about 6 am of March 1,
2008. L. Ter-Petrosian said that all this makes needless all talks
(including the inquiries of the National Assembly ad hoc committee)
about at what hour the police operation was launched.
The third document presented by L. Ter-Petrosian has to do with the
fact that in 1998 Robert Kocharian had no resident registration in
Yerevan. It is evident from a reference received from the Republican
Bureau of Addresses.
In response to the question about why he had not presented the
reference so far, L. Ter-Petrosian replied that he obtained this
document recently.
L. Ter-Petrosian promised to submit all the documents to European
structures. He underlined that these structures pay great attention
to such facts.