Epress.am News from Armenia
Opposition members and activists gathered at their usual meeting place yesterday — in the park with the Martiros Saryan statue in central Yerevan — to greet Murad Bojolyan, the last person considered to be a political prisoner by the opposition bloc the Armenian National Congress (HAK) who was recently released from prison.
Note, Bojoloyan is the only person considered to be a political prisoner by HAK who was not arrested in connection with the events of Mar. 1–2, 2008, in Yerevan, when national police and military forces, called in to disperse mass crowds protesting the presidential election, used “excessive force and violence” which left 10 people dead and many more wounded.
Bojolyan was accused under then RA Criminal Code Article 59 (“imprisonment for a certain term”) for reporting to foreign organizations information about state, military or other secrets (treason). Bojolyan was arrested in 2002 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The Turkologist was released not because he was granted amnesty (as was the case with the others), but because he had completed his sentence.
Despite the rain yesterday, those gathered came to hear not only Bojolyan speak, but also HAK representatives Gagik Jhangiryan and HHSh (Pan-Armenian National Movement) party leader Aram Manukyan.
“These authorities took, stole 10 years of this man’s life, but I don’t know through what patience, dignity Bojolyan endured. Today he is by our side, and he is going to take revenge for the stolen years of his life. This last move of his, when he said, let the Armenian National Congress not be at a loss, that I’m sitting [in prison], let it go dialogue with the authorities — this is his wonderful civic demonstration. A man, dignified proud, bold, who said, I am by HAK’s side, I am by the side of my goals, by the people’s side,” said Manukyan.
Jhangiryan, in turn, informed supporters that Murad Bojolyan was his cell mate for a few months.
“I want to say [that we are fortunate] that there are no more political prisoners in Armenia, and we’re going to fight to have such a country, in which we believe the ruling of any of its courts, and not say, ‘This man is judged innocent; this man has not committed a crime’,” said Jhangiryan.
When Bojolyan was preparing to address the crowd, the oldest activist of the Armenian Popular Movement (HAK’s predecessor), Mrs. Parantsem, tore up second president of the Republic of Armenia Robert Kocharian’s photo and threw it at Bojolyan’s feet.
Bojolyan, in his remarks, noted that the phrase “Sanasar, Baghdasar, all are equal” (which rhymes in the original Armenian) was the slogan of those considered to be political prisoners while they were in prison.
“It meant ‘fight, fight, till the end’ [the common HAK slogan] — until there will be justice in Armenia. During the 10 years, it seemed to me that, really, there was no one left in Armenia and I had lost all hope, but in the last 3–4 years, the stamina that you displayed and your struggle proved that Armenia truly has a future and this small group of people gathered today is the smallest segment of wonderful Armenia, the Armenia that has a wonderful future, which will grow like a snowball and changed everything in this country — it will turn Armenia into a just and democratic country, a country for real Armenians,” he said.