The public transport theme continues to be one of the most key problems, although local authorities on behalf of the Yerevan City Mayor and his “image-makers” try to ignore it. Taron Margaryan, accompanied with TV operators and photographers, travels through communities, and the Information and Public Relations Department of the City Hall disseminates messages, which with the terminology specific to the Soviet advocacy are trying to create an image of a caring local government for us (the underlying text of the advocacy is clear: “You conduct a sit-in over there, and look, the Mayor is working by the sweat of his brow”).
And the fact that no fair explanation was provided after the temporary suspension of 150 AMD fare, as to why the text was kept secret for a few days, and generally how could the transport price rise without publicizing the decision about it, was not commented. Well, it still is not the business of the City Hall media; they are only recorders or accomplishments and achievements…
Perhaps, it is not also the business of representatives of the municipality to meet the activists in a sit-in strike for 10 days and to listen to their demands. Instead, you may overuse the water to prevent the sit-in strike by watering not only green lawns, but the sidewalks, and of course, with the active intervention of the local police and brutal actions to prevent of being protected from the sun and at least putting a tent to spend the night.
The tent war with the police is not new: it was “conducted” at the Mashtots Park, and on the days of Raffi Hovannisian’s hunger strike, and now during the sit-in strike in front of the City Hall. And, every time, the fair demand of putting a tent faces the Deputy Chief of Police Osipyan’s ‘principality’. Osipyan, in ‘principle’, without any serious justification, forbids putting a tent referring to Article 172.2 of the Code of the Republic of Armenia on Administrative Offenses. But, this time, the person trying to put a tent is the lawyer, editor of the web-site and analyst Argishti Kiviryan, who announced that the police is lying, this Article does not have such a ban. And, in order to understand what is right, Osipyan’s ‘principality’ or Argishti Kiviryan’s statement, let’s read the Article.
Read also
The Code of Administrative Offences of the Republic of Armenia.
“Article 172.2. Violation of the rules for the use of public facilities
Violating the restrictions set forth by the law or administrative act based on the law for the use of streets, sidewalks, squares, groves, parks, sport grounds and other public places:
Shall cause imposition of a penalty in the amount of 20 to 60 fold of the minimum salary (quoted according to the text published in arlis.am website of Legal Information System of Armenia).
Let’s read for the second time and try to figure out where Osipyan sees a restriction in this text regarding installation of a tent. In other words, where given rules are written in the text, or according to what rules that are regulated that are it is prohibited to install a tent on the lawn as a part of a public protest. Osipyan does not say this and does not refer to respective law or regulation. If he does not mention, we can conclude that there is no such law or regulation. If there is no law then we can also ask to whom the tent installed on the lawn disturbs. Absolutely to no one, especially the tent installed in that section, for sure, does not
violate the rights of other citizens. Therefore, hindering the placement of the tent, the police are operating not in favor of the interests of the citizens of Armenia, whom presumably could interfere with other citizens’ (by installing a tent) operation, but exclusively based on their ‘principles’. It turns out that the law or procedure indicated in the Article 172.2 of the Code of the Republic of Armenia on Administrative Offences is only Osipyan’s ‘principle’ (the video clearly shows that the tent infuriates the policeman like toreador’s red cloth to the bull: he immediately attacks toreador … I’m sorry, the person installing the tent), and it turns out that Kiviryan is correct, when he accuses the police in falsehood.
Argishti Kiviryan intended to appeal the decision to appoint an administrative fine for him for trying to install a tent. I am not sure that he will win the trial, because we all know what “independent” court he is going to deal with, but it is a fact that Osipian’s unacceptable ‘principality’, ultimately, needs to be restrained. And as long as such police, without making specific reference to the law, only by their own wish, prevent public protests, the statements made by Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan regarding police reforms are just empty words, soap bubbles that burst from just collide with society relations. And as long as Vladimir Gasparyan tolerates Osipyan and other like Osipyan in his system, who evidently exceed his powers, the society will continue to be disrespectful towards the police, no matter how the same police preachers try ‘to create’ another image of a policeman with pompous and mincing words and messages…
Mesrop HARUTYUNYAN
