Epress.am News from Armenia
Prominent civic activist and former political prisoner Vardges Gaspari today held a demonstration outside Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan’s house. Gaspari’s poster, which usually has the phrase “serzhik is a murderer, serzhik is a bastard” written on it, today also featured photos of Artur Sargsyan, the Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sasun) supporter who died yesterday in hospital.
In a conversation with Epress.am, Gaspari said during his protest action he had tried to block the way of Sargsyan’s motorcade “to make my opinion of him known” but was prevented from doing so by police officers. “I ran to the middle of the road; a police officer was trying to obstruct me, and together we fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Serzh’s motorcade changed its direction and drove past us,” Gaspari said.
It is clear to him, the activist continued, that Artur Sargsyan, who came to be known as “the food bringer for driving through a police cordon to deliver food to the Sasna Tsrer gunmen, was killed by the authorities; “We did not know, but the authorities and the medical personnel were well aware that Artur was going to die. When his lawyers would warn that Artur was vomiting blood with a turn of his head, the prison administration would insist that his life was not in danger. It was a murder, cold-bloodedly planned on all levels of power.”
Gaspari is convinced: “the authorities killed Sargsyan out of vengeance.” “These vile bastards killed Artur out of their own interest; they could not forgive what he did. But Artur was simply a titanic example… These are the basic characteristics of our society and the ruling regime: they are vile, cold-blooded murderers, capable of everything for their own benefit.”
After the announcement of Sargsyan’s death on Thursday evening, hundreds of people marched towards the presidential residence, chanting “the food deliverer was killed!” Some of the marchers also stopped briefly by the gates of the National Assembly building and threw loaves of bread through the gate railings.