Armenia Justice Minister: Amnesty will Apply to Nikol Pashinyan

The general amnesty will apply to imprisoned journalist, chief editor of local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”) Nikol Pashinyan and former National Assembly deputy, imprisoned opposition member Sasun Mikaelyan. This news was conveyed by Armenian justice minister Hrayr Tovmasyan late yesterday evening on the program “Herankar” (perspective, prospect) on Shant TV, commenting on the draft amnesty resolution presented at the National Assembly yesterday.

Asked whether the amnesty move and the renewed probe into the events of Mar. 1–2, 2008, can be viewed as a single “package,” the minister said one is the logical extension of the other.

“If we attempt to follow the policy adopted by the president, we will see that there is a certain logical continuation, and the integrity of these steps can be considered the president’s Astana speech, continued in the speech dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the [ruling] Republican Party of Armenia. Our challenge is to make the domestic life of the country more effective, so that there is civilized dialogue, so that the public isn’t divided into three different groups: government [i.e. ruling coalition], opposition, and the people, where there won’t be [events such as] March 1 at all,” he said, referring to the days in 2008 when the forceful dispersal of peaceful demonstrators protesting the results of the presidential election resulted in the death of 10 people.

Armenia is entering into the 20th anniversary of its independence, Tovmasyan continued, and those issues which were permissible during the years of its “youth” become impermissible for a mature state. And the amnesty has to fit into this logic, he said.