GAGIK JHANGIRIAN: PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT IS DOOMED TO VICTORY

Noyan Tapan
July 14, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Armenia’s law enforcement bodies
and judicial system do not carry out their constitutional and
legislative duties and have been completely turned into structures
serving regime’s political orders, concealing wealthy persons’,
state officials’ business and property. Former RA Deputy Prosecutor
General Gagik Jhangirian made such a statement at the July 14 press
conference. Henceforth he will coordinate the work of the Armenian
National Congress’ State and Legal Commission and Center for Legal
Protection.

According to G. Jhangirian, law enforcement and judicial bodies not
only fail to carry out their duties, but also violate the Constitution
and the laws with their illegal actions. "Thousands of citizens
continue undergoing administrative, police, criminal prosecutions for
their political views and convictions, active civil position," he said.

According to G. Jhangirian, the Police are overloaded with functions
not peculiar to them, mass political persecutions, limitations
of citizens’ free travel, blockades of roads and populated areas,
which take huge efforts, time, human and material resources from that
structure. As a result the structure in essence has been isolated from
its main duties of fighting crime, the direct consequence of which is
the unprecedented growth of crime and low index of crimes disclosure.

According to G. Jhangirian’s estimation, the Prosecutor’s Office has
been turned into a bureau of planning artificial criminal intrigues
against political oppositionists, their family members and relatives,
even against their friends, and the Special Investigation Service
has become a workshop of perverting and spoiling young investigators.

G. Jhangirian also considers that we have a deep crisis in the judicial
sphere in Armenia: a citizen is absolutely unprotected, applying for
law enforcement bodies for protection of his freedoms and rights is
not only vain, but is also fraught with unpredictable consequences as
there is no guarantee that he will not be turned from a persecuted
person into a charged one. "It is the main motivation of citizen’s
choosing migration as a way out from estrangement, self-isolation,
hard moral-psychological condition," G. Jhangirian said.

To come out of the formed situation and to improve the situation
ANC is going to create a special data base of recording violations
of citizens’ rights and freedoms. The collected information will be
provided to the future authorities of Armenia to restore citizens’
violated rights. "The people’s movement is doomed to a victory,"
G. Jhangirian said not excluding a victory through special elections.