Yesterday Levon Zurabyan, the leader of the Armenian National Congress (ANC) parliamentary group, talked about the ANC activists condemned to imprisonment in the National Assembly and warned the government that if the verdict of the court remained in force, Armenia would have 4 prisoners of conscience, which would make the internal political situation tense. During another protest demanding the release of the ANC activists condemned to imprisonment organized outside the Attorney General’s Office today, Mr. Zurabyan said, “If the verdict of the court remains in force, it will necessarily cause pressure on Armenia and Armenia’s international reputation will be damaged. Although in accordance with the law, all our statements must be fully broadcasted on TV, all our tough speeches, which were about the prisoners of conscience, the events of March 1, robbery etc., all speeches were edited and cut; they don’t show them grossly violating the Armenian legislation, which means that the government fears the criticism of even 7 MPs.”
Mr. Zurabyan also said that he had met with the parents of the soldiers who had died in the army at the ANC central office today. They told Mr. Zohrabyan about the circumstances of their sons’ deaths. “Is it possible to love a country that commits such crimes and then hushes up those crimes at the state level? Is it possible to love a country that commits a crime like March 1 shooting at its own citizens, depriving them of their lives and then hushes up that crime too? Is it possible to love a state that rigs elections at the state level and imposes a robbing Cabinet, which we haven’t elected, on us? Is it possible to love a state, a doctor of whose Ministry of Defense may be killed by an oligarch’s bodyguards and then the main occupation of that state will be to free that oligarch from responsibility? Is it possible to love a state that doesn’t glorify its youths who fight for freedom, but on the contrary, wants to destroy and make them rot in prison.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
