“We have never supported anyone unconditionally and are not preparing to do so. Idolatry is a bad thing. There are no idols and we would not advise anyone who protects anyone else unconditionally,” said leader of the ARF faction Armen Rustamyan in an interview with reporters in parliament, answering the question of whether the ARF will unconditionally support the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan.
“We’re instead saying don’t judge anyone so they don’t judge you, but if you do choose to judge someone, you need to do it without outrage, because if we judge someone even one time with passion, emotion, and objectiveness, that will become the norm and we’ll have to fight against it. You can’t fight against injustice through unjust means. This is what we’re saying. Let it be Robert Kocharyan or anyone else,” Armen Rustamyan said, confirming the ARF’s position.
Regarding a question from one of the reporters of whether the ARF considers what happened to Robert Kocharyan to be political persecution and if he can be considered a political prisoner, Armen Rustamyan said that five principles are necessary in order to make that decision, which are still not necessary to prove. If any of the five principles are violated, then it’s possible to speak about political persecution. Regarding Robert Kocharyan’s case, Armen Rustamyan said that it’s better to charge for something that has been proven many times rather than charge them for something that still needs to be proven. “If we charge someone with something that still needs to be proven, then we’re making it possible for the person charged to justify it.”
Nelly Grigoryan
