“Levon Ter-Petrossian lost in the elections and tried to involve “Yerkrapah Volunteers Union” in the political struggle. His teammates standing on the platform were chanting, Manvel-Manvel (Manvel Grigoryan was Deputy Defense Minister then)… Gagik Melkonyan’s (Deputy Defense Minister) name was also being voiced”, touching upon the detention of the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan within the case of March 1, said his office head Viktor Soghomonyan at a press conference. “Then mass disorders were organized, which were not velvet revolution. Those were disorders which killed ten people. Now, to justify what the opposition has done in those days, the story is being altered. They say that Ter-Petrossian and his teammates won, that his teammates had organized not disorders but the people’s struggle”, he added.
Then, Viktor Soghomonyan asked, “Who is now trying to take revenge from Kocharyan? Who has been spreading lies about Robert Kocharyan’s “guilt” for ten years? I promise we will find that person and he will be punished. Illegal persecutors of the former president will be punished”.
According to Viktor Soghomonyan, it is clear that they have focused on Robert Kocharyan: “It turns out that he was planning something with Khachaturov and Mikayel Harutyunyan? There are some Armenian National Movement members who say the army has been involved in political processes. Then who was involving the deputy defense ministers in the political processes? Robert Kocharyan was just a target, everyone tried to put the blame on him. Everything will be discovered, and the society will learn about many interesting facts since it has been zombied for years through false propaganda. The attempt of involving the armed forces was made by Ter-Petrossian and his teammates”.
In response to the question whether Robert Kocharyan was aware of the shootings that killed ten people, Viktor Soghomonyan said: “We urge to investigate that. Let the Special Investigation Service clarify the circumstances. Robert Kocharyan has no guilt in that”.
Let us remind you that former President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan has remanded into custody for two months. The ex-president was interrogated on March 1 case. Robert Kocharyan was charged with a criminal offense on the basis of sufficient evidence obtained during the preliminary investigation by the Armenian Special Investigative Service on the criminal case on the events that took place in Yerevan from March 1, 2008 to March 2, 2008, under Article 300.1 Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, for the fact that he overturned the constitutional order of the Republic of Armenia by prior agreement with other persons.
A petition was submitted to the Yerevan City Court of First Instance for choosing detention as a preventive measure against Robert Kocharyan.
Mass protests were held in Armenia, after presidential elections on 2008. The protests were organized by the supporters of the First President of Republic of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosian. During the protest held on March 1, 2008, clashes broke out between police and protesters. President Robert Kocharyan declared a 20-day state of emergency.
Luiza SUKIASYAN
