HUMAN RIGHTS’ DEFENDER’S STATEMENT AND GAREGIN NJDEH
Lragir.am
13:59:12 – 10/03/2009
On March 10 the Human Rights’ Defender Armen Harutyunyan issued its
annual report on 2008 which contains very strict assessment on the
situation in Armenia. In his report Armen Harutyunyan states the
presence of the current oligarchic-clan system in the country, speaks
about the necessity of giving it up and the necessity of separating the
government from the business refusing the Soviet Union’s mentality and
the traditions and also the necessity of establishing a government
based on law. The ombudsman notes that there is an atmosphere of fear
in Armenia and the office of Prosecutor General and the special
investigative service are just measures of repression.
Armen Harutyunyan considered concerning the unilateral activities of
the administrative machine especially during the 20 days of the state
of emergency which, according to the ombudsman, deepens the existing
atmosphere of hatred and intolerance. Both the government and the
opposition must deal with the overcoming this atmosphere and shaping
one of tolerance. Armen Harutyunyan notes that it is necessary to put
in a mechanism of counterbalance in Armenia. `The Armenians are
gathering the fruits of their past,’ Armen Harutyunyan cites Garegin
Njdeh.
Armen Harutyunyan points out the issues on restrictions on the freedom
of speech and rallies, rejection of the applications of the opposition
on rallies, unpunished cases of violence towards reporters as very
important questions from legal point of view. Armen Harutyunyan brings
as an example the case of the reporter Gohar Veziryan when she was hit
by an high-ranking policeman during the strikes between the Police and
the oppositionists on October 23 and the video of that incident was
spread all over the country but the policeman was not called for
responsibility.
Armen Harutyunyan also notes the problem of differentiated use of the
law, for example the law focused its attention on the Gala TV and the
Bjni Company only at a certain moment. Armen Harutyunyan states that he
does not go into details whether the law is just towards these
companies as in this case the problem is that law was operated
beginning from a `certain moment.’
According to the report of the Human Rights’ Defender another serious
problem is the atmosphere of fear and violence in the penitentiary
institutions, the silence of the violated people there. The HRD report
considers important for 2008 the problem of protection of ownership
rights in particular connected with the residents of construction areas
when the Armenian courts do not make any decision unless the case is
reached to the European court and is always solved in citizen’s favor.
The question of the environment is also stated in the HRD report
especially the fact that Yerevan has become a half desert.
In response to reporter’s question on who is more satisfied with his
job Armen Harutyunyan said that when his work is effective to the
government the opposition blames him of being a governmental project
and in the opposite case the government blames him of `working for
outside force.’ Armen Harutyunyan thinks that there is just lack of
tolerance in reality that is why he says that both the opposition and
the government should made all efforts in this connection. According to
the Human Rights’ Defender the Armenian society is more ready to this
atmosphere than the political system parts of which are the government
and the opposition.
By the way, as to the 2008 presidential election Armen Harutyunyan
notes that his special report with all its assessments in this
connection issued last year may be considered a part of this new one.