PRESIDENT’S AMNESTY DECREE IS A COLLECTION OF DECEPTIONS, ANC STATES

Noyan Tapan

Jan 26, 2009

YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The Armenian National Congress
(ANC) spread a report touching upon the decree RA President Serzh
Sargsyan signed on Saturday, according to which amnesty was granted
to 16 people. The ANC statement, in particular, read:

"The regime uses its whole arsenal of deceptions and tricks, starting
absurd "circular letters" up to shameless falsehood to avoid both the
demand to immediately release the political prisoners and not to be
deprived of the vote in PACE. For that purpose, in particular, in the
past month, the regime did its best to extort appeals for mercy from
political prisoners to introduce "progress" to the Assembly. After
failing this immoral plan at the last moment usurper Serzh Sargsyan
made a new trick, an obvious falsehood, on January 23 signed a decree
on granting amnesty to 16 convicts."

The statement authors mention a number of reasons why they consider
the decree a deceit, in particular, they mention that the cases of
those persons are not connected with "arms and ammunition," 2 out
of 14 in their time confessed in the court that they were Serzh
Sargsyan’s proxies, and 1 Bargavach Hayastan (Prosperous Armenia)
party member, 10 out of the rest 11 are people unknown to ANC having
nothing in common with the demonstrants, who were sent by the regime
to organize robberies and provocations.

According to statement’s text, ANC has information, according to which
one more list of "convicts granted amnesty" is being prepared, which
will be published in PACE at the last moment so that PACE deputies
could not check the authenticity of the facts introduced by them.