“Can Vova Gasparyan say of what our militia is thinking about when hitting a woman? You are hitting the woman in the street, and detaining her. Do you think that you are working against freedom of opinion? Sending the next application and reporting against these authorities regarding the incident makes no sense. All the talks with these authorities are over, no effective means is still known to me and our organization of how to bring these dummy militia to order,” said Levon Barseghyan, Chairman of Board of Asbarez club, referring to yesterday’s slapping incident to journalist Ani Gevorgyan at the police department. According to him, over the last 12 years, there were more than 200 assaults over the journalists, and only 3-4 of them were half-disclosed. “In other cases, the police was unable to disclose. And you are talking about reporting. Now, if Ani reports against the police officer and the police starts examining the case and the police officer who has hit her says “I swear for my father that I have not hit her, and the chips were empty, we have returned them empty. And then write papers, give explanation, all of these instruments have long been exhausted.” In the opinion of Mr. Barseghyan, all the police actions towards preventing the awareness of March 1 rally were not preventive, but promoted to large-scale awareness. “Maybe it’s special done and they do not like Serzh Sargsyan and have decided that the notification be large-scale and community to know about it. Now people are better informed about what will happen on March 1.” Referring to yesterday’s RPA-ANC youth incident, to the reaction of RPA MP Karen Avagyan that “from now on similar displays will be answered adequately,” Mr. Barseghyan said, “The ideas of remarkable specialists of balloon should have made them understand that nothing is left without consequence in nature. It will be compensated for sure. If they find that physical violence should be exercised against free expression of people’s opinion, they need to understand that while making this expression they are also expressing an opinion and if someone does not like this opinion, it will not be left unanswered and adequate response will be given to it. But, at this time, he may not manage to call Vova, or Serzh. We have achieved to a point that the man who considers him an MP has decided that the physical force should be the answer of free opinion. This man is unaware that the law is read that if there is a crime in the expression, they should apply to court, rather than exerting a physical strength.”
In response to our inquiry of whether they have determined who was the one in civilian clothes slapping the woman, the police officer Armen Malkhasyan just said, “Such cases are in the attention of the police, and the investigation is underway.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
