JAILED NATIONALIST DENIES PLOTTING VIOLENT REGIME CHANGE
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 6 2007
Zhirayr Sefilian, an Armenian nationalist activist controversially
jailed on coup charges, insists that he never sought to topple
Armenia’s government by force, parliament deputies sympathizing with
him said on Tuesday.
The mostly opposition lawmakers campaigning for Sefilian’s release
showed journalists his written answers to their questions relating
to the politically charged case. The Lebanese-Armenian veteran of
the war in Nagorno-Karabakh responded to them from his prison cell.
"It’s a ludicrous accusation fabricated on a political order,"
Sefilian wrote. "I have always spoken of the need for regime change.
But I can’t imagine doing that by means of force or arms because
there is no need for that."
"The people hate those several individuals [governing Armenia] so
much that you just have to organize them a little and the regime will
collapse. If calling for regime change is a crime, then at least half
of Armenia’s population can be tried on that charge," he said.
Sefilian and a leading member of a small opposition party, Vartan
Malkhasian, were arrested and charged last December under Article
301 of Armenia’s Criminal Code that deals with public calls for a
"violent change constitutional order." The arrests came just days
after they set up a new organization opposed to Armenian territorial
concessions to Azerbaijan.
Armenia’s National Security Service (NSS) claims that the group,
called the Alliance of Armenian Volunteers (HKH), planned to
mount an armed uprising against the government during this year’s
parliamentary elections. The NSS cites, among other things, Sefilian’s
and Malkhasian’s passionate speeches at a December 2 meeting of about
a hundred HKH activists.
In his speech, Sefilian threatened to "crack the head of anyone who
will dare to surrender land" to Azerbaijan. He also scoffed at past
opposition attempts to force regime change with a campaign of peaceful
demonstrations. "These people will not quit as a result of peaceful
demonstrations or external pressure," he said, referring to President
Robert Kocharian and Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian.
The Lebanese national’s lawyers insist that the remarks did not
contain explicit calls for a violent overthrow of the government.
Some human rights campaigners agree. "I believe that there is nothing
in the speech punishable by criminal law," said Larisa Alaverdian,
Armenia’s former human rights ombudsperson. "If we open criminal
cases after every emotional speech, Armenia will become awash with
political prisoners."
The opposition deputies, who formed a committee in support of the
two men, and several prominent intellectuals on Tuesday challenged
the Armenian authorities to prosecute them as well, publicly putting
their signatures on the transcript of Sefilian’s speech. Armenia’s
leading opposition groups have repeatedly condemned the case as
politically motivated.
In his written answers, Sefilian also said he has been personally
interrogated by the deputy chief of the NSS, Hrachya Harutiunian. He
claimed: "[Harutiunian] said, ‘Why are you doing business with the
opposition?’ Who the hell are they? You don’t realize how strong we
are. We’re going to crush them.’"