Today Vladimir Gasparyan, the Chief of Police of the Republic of Armenia, assured during a conversation with journalists that Suren Khachatryan, the governor of Syunik, was not a criminal. He urged people to believe him, since he was convinced that Suren Khachatryan was just a governor. Moreover, the chief of police said that people liked to exaggerate, meaning that Suren Khachatryan’s involvement in various incidents was also exaggerated. In this regard, www.aravot.am inquired of Hovsep Khurshudyan, the Heritage Party press secretary, whether he believed that the governor of Syunik wasn’t engaged in criminal activities. “Certainly, we don’t believe,” Hovsep Khurshudyan said, adding, “We have seen in the past few years what he has done. We have seen his attitude both during and after elections.”
In response to our question whether it was possible that what was told about Suren Khachatryan was exaggerated, as the chief of police thought, he said: “I don’t share the
opinion expressed by the chief of police. There is no exaggeration. People describe such persons quite soberly and adequately. And if they want to keep him as a governor, the result of that will be that during the next election – if, certainly, this government survives till the next election – they will not just suffer a defeat in Syunik and Kapan, even according to the official results, they will win such a small percentage that they will not be able to ensure their victory through ballot box stuffing, electoral fraud even in the remotest village.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
