The Armenian Council of America strongly condemns the violent actions perpetrated by the Armenian police and unidentified gangs in civilian clothes not only against Armenian Citizens exercising their right to freedom of speech and assembly, but also journalists engaged in their professional work. This unprecedented level of police brutality against peaceful and unarmed protesters is more fitting to a repressive regime rather than a democratic country.
We demand that the Armenian police immediately cease all illegal activities against the citizens and urge the authorities to launch an investigation into the actions of those who gave the orders and executed the crackdown on the unarmed protesters.
Furthermore, the Armenian Council of America urges the State Department to suspend any cooperation with or assistance to the Police of the Republic of Armenia until such time when the Armenian authorities hold those officials and senior police officers who were, either directly or indirectly, responsible for such deplorable acts by their subordinates.
As a US based Armenian organization that strives to see our ancestral homeland become a beacon of democracy in the region, we expect the Armenian Government and all its branches to respect the basic human rights of its citizenry and uphold the tenets of universal principles of democracy.
