Epress.am News from Armenia
On Feb. 20, local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”) chief editor, imprisoned journalist Nikol Pashinyan wrote an article on the news of RA Human Rights Defender Armen Harutyunyan’s resignation from his post. The article, published by the newspaper in today’s issue, reads as follows:
“The winter transfer window turned out to be productive for Armenia. Yerevan’s ‘Armenia’s’ Human Rights left midfielder Armen Harutyunyan signed an agreement, brokered by the UN, with Tashkent’s Pakhtakor, where the left midfielder’s functions will be carried out through payment.
“If Armen Harutyunyan was actually a football [soccer] player, we could’ve understood his announcement on transferring to another ‘team.’ Though in the modern world, many fans don’t forgive their players for quitting the team. But Armen Harutyunyan is not a playmaker, but a person assigned the high position of Ombudsman defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. By and large, the Republic of Armenia won’t lose much from Armen Harutyunyan’s resignation from a high position. But the now acting Human Rights Defender’s statement that he, not waiting for his term to expire, has decided to move to Central Asia to work, again proves that during this time our country hasn’t even had an Ombdusman. This man didn’t know what position he held, what it’s nature and mission is. He came a virgin, and now a better offer has been proposed — he’s leaving. There’s no surprise in what’s happened and you’d be hard-pressed to find any citizens in Armenia who would expect otherwise from the acting Ombudsman. There isn’t even a need to comment on his move; it speaks for itself.
“In such a country with human rights issues as Armenia, the Ombudsman must be romantically dedicated to his work, something like a fanatic, a recluse. But, unfortunately, not only Armen Harutyunyan hasn’t been like this, but also his successor won’t be [like this], because [Armenian President] Serzh Sargsyan won’t put forth such a person for the position of RA Human Rights Defender. The best option is someone polished with low-quality gloss like Hrayr Tovmasyan, about whom the myth on ‘purity’, under the rules of the well-known saying, may last until the first [press] conference.
“As for Armen Harutyunyan, I think that his work in Central Asia will be productive. Robert Kocharian’s worst cadre, of course, will be useful in terms of serving the Uzbek-Turkmenic despotic regimes.”