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Opposition editor remains in jail; police officers remain free. All media outlets report that, after a close-door session yesterday, a court in Yerevan decided to grant the request of the Special Investigation Service (SIS) to extend the pre-trial detention of opposition newspaper editor Nikol Pashinian, charged with organizing “mass riots” and unsanctioned demonstrations connected with last year’s March 1 post-election unrest. Under the latest court ruling, Pashinian will be kept under arrest until November 1. Meanwhile, HAYOTS ASHKHAR and HAYASTANI HANRAPETUTYUN report that four police officers were charged with abuse of power for beating people during the protests on March 1, 2008. The police officers were allowed to give a pledge not to leave the country and will consequently not be held under pre-trial detention.
Dashnaks cite failure to obtain genocide statement as reason for legal setback in California. All newspapers report that Armenian Revolutionary Federation’s (ARF) Political Affairs Director Giro Manoyan stated at a press conference yesterday that ARF has effectively linked a recent U.S. court decision invalidating a law that allowed heirs of Armenian genocide survivors to seek payments on relatives’ life insurance policies to “Armenian diplomatic failures in the ongoing negotiations with Turkey.” Manoyan specified that that the roadmap to normalizing bilateral relations announced by Armenia and Turkey on the eve of the “Armenian Genocide” commemoration day allowed U.S. President Barack Obama to avoid terming the 1915 massacres of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey a genocide in his annual presidential message to the U.S. Armenian community on April 24. He asserted that, in turn, influenced the U.S. judges in reaching their decision.
President expressed confidence in armed forces. All newspapers report that President Sargsian visited the Armenian Defense Ministry yesterday. He underscored the continuing development of the Armed Forces and the increase of their fighting capacity. The president said the defense system must correspond to current demands and constantly improve. Sargsian is quoted saying that the army, “the pillar of our society, provides the basis for political leadership of the country to feel confident and respectable in the [Nagorno-Karabakh] negotiation process.”
Opposition alleges government used private bodyguards in March 1 crackdown. All newspapers report that during a press conference yesterday, opposition representatives Seda Safarian and Andranik Kocharian accused the government of using the bodyguards of a number of government-connected oligarchs and officials in the deadly crackdown against protesters on March 1, 2008. According to Kocharian, they want to visit one of the warehouses of the ministry of defense to find out how about 950 uniforms were ostensibly issued to a number of wealthy businessmen and senior government officials during the period of March 1-2 events. However, they have been prevented from seeing the corresponding registers of the facilities (also covered by RFE/RL). The full text of the 4th report prepared by representatives of the opposition is published in ARAVOT newspaper. |
