There Were No Political Prisoners in Armenia During Kocharian’s Presidency: Soghomonyan

“Granting amnesty is, of course, a humane step. Isn’t it true that released were not only those who are directly responsible for organizing the mass unrest of Mar. 1, 2008, and for the death of 10 people? As for one of the underlying goals of the amnesty, mitigating internal political tension, I can say that today it is difficult to make forecasts concerning this, especially against the background of the well-known statements made by the released oppositionists. I would like to hope that the tension really will decline. Time will tell,” said Viktor Soghomonyan, head of Robert Kocharian’s office, in an exclusive interview with Yerevan-based Mediamax news agency, in response to the interviewer’s comment that as a result of general amnesty approved by parliament last week, a number of those convicted in connection with the events of Mar. 1, 2008, in Yerevan were also released.
“I was a bit concerned by another fact: a whole range of politicians and media presented this amnesty as an ‘unprecedented event,’ and the release of political prisoners as ‘another step to overcome Kocharian’s heritage.’ These statements amaze me.

“First of all, from the moment of gaining independence, our state has announced amnesty a few times already (if I am not mistaken, this is the seventh amnesty). Three amnesties were granted during Robert Kocharian’s presidency — in 1998, in 2001 and in 2006. So, of course, there is nothing unprecedented here.

“As for ‘another step to overcome…,’ I am forced to recall that from1998–2007, there wasn’t a single political prisoner in the Republic of Armenia. This is a commonly known fact. The politicians, who were released recently, had been convicted to various terms of imprisonment after April, 2008. So, any ‘heritage’ and especially ‘overcoming it’ is out of the question,” said Soghomonyan.