AN ATMOSPHERE OF IMPUNITY IS THE RESULT OF THE MONOPOLY OF THE RULING PARTY OF ARMENIA

Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
Feb 16 2015

16 February 2015 – 3:54pm

Susanna Petrosyan, Yerevan. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

During the last week relations between the authorities and the
opposition have become tense in Armenia. One reason for the new wave
of tension is the beating up of an activist of the movement Kasetsum
(Suspension), Artak Khachatryan. Members of the movement held protests
a month ago, demanding that the government suspend launching the new
law on turnover tax.

Due to well-organized mass protests of representatives of small
and medium-sized business and due to the active support of the
parliamentary opposition, the government postponed operation of the
law to June 1st. It seemed the problem had been solved in time.

However, on February 7th a member of the Prosperous Armenia Party,
Artak Khachatryan, was kidnapped and taken to an undisclosed location.

According to preliminary data of the Investigative Committee,
Khachatryan was kidnapped in Yerevan by three armed masked men.

Khachatryan was beaten for several hours. Later he was taken to a
lonely street and abandoned there. Later that evening the activist
was taken to hospital.

The parliamentary opposition trio (PA, the Armenian National Congress
and Heritage) organized protests near the government building and
the police headquarters, demanding an instant investigation into the
incident and punishment of those guilty. Participants in the protest
gave the police a few days to investigate the crime. According to
the secretary of the PA parliamentary faction, Naira Zograbyan,
if those who beat Khachatryan up are not arrested and punished in a
short period, PA will raise the question of numerous resignations.

The political council of PA demanded an investigation into this
and other cases of attacking political and social activists: “We
believe that the top authorities of the country should be blamed for
the current bandit atmosphere and outrage in the country, and are
responsible for the incidents. Instead of solving the accumulating
problems, the government is kidnapping and beating its opponents.”

Officials criticized violence, but prime minister Ovik Abramyan
characterized the statement of PA as a snap and emotional judgment;
the press secretary of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia,
vice-speaker Edward Sharmazanov, found the accusations against the
authorities unacceptable: “If PA has evidence, it should show it. I
recommend they await the results of the investigation, rather than
making emotional statements.”

It is true that PA has no facts or evidence that the authorities
stand behind the scandalous incident. However, the party has put the
officials in a difficult situation: if those who are guilty are not
found and punished, it will turn out that the government supervises
violence.

The politicization of the case is interesting. The kidnapping and
beating of a member of PA and one of the leaders of the Kasetsum
Movement, who have economic demands, have political grounds, as he
is not a representative of the criminal world.

Cases of violence against political and social activists have become
frequent. In December 2014 a group of 8-9 people attacked members of
the board of the Union of Veterans, an organization which cooperates
with the opposition – Ramzik Petrosyan and Manvel Yegiazaryan. The
next day, several unknown men in masks beat up another representative
of the Union of Veterans, Suren Sargsyan. The criminals haven’t been
found yet. Another victim was the secretary of the parliamentary
faction of the ANC, the vice chairman of the ANC, Aram Manukyan,
who was beaten up near his house. As a result of an investigation,
the suspect in the attack on the MP, Arshak Svazyan, was released
under an undertaking not to leave the city.

These and other cases of violence, which have a political background,
are the results of the internal political situation which has
formed, when the ruling RPA has a political and economic monopoly,
and it enables the authorities to ignore their opponents, as well as
encourage an atmosphere of impunity in society.