Epress.am News from Armenia
Asked by Epress.am whether, in his opinion, all imprisoned oppositionists will be released ahead of the upcoming Armenian National Congress rally, Heritage Party leader, MP Raffi Hovannisian said probably, but not all.
“I’m not informed, I don’t know, I hope they will be released, but maybe not all,” he said.
Recall that mass protests against alleged electoral fraud, organized by supporters of unsuccessful presidential candidate, first president of the Republic of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian, followed the presidential election of Feb. 19, 2008, in Armenia. On Mar. 1, 2008, national police and military forces, called in to disperse the crowds, used “excessive force and violence” which left 10 people dead and many more wounded. A handful of Ter-Petrossian loyalists were arrested in connection with these events, some of whom have been released since. The opposition refers to these men as “political prisoners.”
Touching upon the authorities’ recent call for a more vigorous probe into the events of Mar. 1–2, 2008, Hovannisian said there has to be a special prosecutor system that can get testimonies from everyone — the presidents, generals and average citizens.
“I’m skeptical of the authorities’ move toward uncovering [the circumstances surrounding] Mar. 1 [2008] since it hasn’t happened for three years. I think that Armenia has to become a member of the International Criminal Court. It’s unable to resolve this issue itself; it has to submit this issue to the international court perhaps with a selective example,” he said.