On July 5, we sent some questions to Armenian second President Robert Kocharyan through his office.
–Mr. President, the investigation on “March 1” case has recently entered a new turning point. One of the most discussed aspects is the consultation you held with the commanding staff of the Armed Forces. What consultation was it?
–There was no consultation as such. There was a brief meeting with the commanders that lasted less than half an hour. I can tell why I decided to hold such a meeting. We had to take immediate action and I returned to Yerevan on February 22 evening. At the Yerevan airport, I instructed to gather the army commanders at the presidential palace on February 23 morning. At the meeting, I noted about the unacceptability of the army in the political process and demanded from all the generals to make a decision: either to resign from the service in the army or leave the “Yerkrapah” Board. It is unacceptable that the generals discuss the political orientation of the actual semi-military structure for two days instead of engaging in the service. Manvel Grigoryan did not attend the meeting, with the justification that he was on vacation. I ordered him to go home and make a decision. I also told that if the meetings and gatherings in “Yerkrapah” continue, measures on detection of weapons and ammunition will be held throughout the building. The building was already empty on that very day, and Manvel Grigoryan went home too. I demanded from the commanding staff to take measures to ensure order in the army and to keep it away from engaging in political processes. There was no discussion at all: I told what I needed to and left. Later, during the day, I had two more short meetings: with the police and National Security Service leadership. Nature, the theme of the meetings was the same. There was no discussion of any action plan during any of the three meetings. It was important for me to strengthen discipline in power structures, to maintain their integrity, and to abstain from party influences.
–What was the Defense Minister’s so-called secret 0038 order?
–It is an internal document and the actions taken are under the jurisdiction of the Defense Ministry. Generally, according to the existing Constitution, the executive power provided the implementation of the policy in the field of defense and security. The decisions of the Minister of Defense did not require approval by the President. It is simply absurd to accuse the Minister of performing his duties properly. As far as I know, the army units did not use weapons on March 1, 2008, and did not clash with the demonstrators.