Aghvan Vardanyan: Police Must Be Held Accountable
YEREVAN (A.W.)—Hours after the assault on and arrest of protesters demanding the annulment of the decision to increase electricity tariffs in Armenia, thousands are continuing their demonstration by once again marching from Yerevan’s Freedom Square to Armenia’s Presidential residence.
In the early hours of June 23, police moved in on the protesters aided with water cannons. More than 230 protesters were arrested. The protesters did not fight back, and some were assaulted in the process, reported Azatutyun.am.
Speaking to reporters today during the ongoing protest, Yerevan’s Deputy Police Chief Valery Osipyan said the protesters who had been arrested earlier in the day had been released. Osipyan also said that for the most part, police did not perform any illegal actions, and will detain protesters again if necessary.
When asked about the use of excessive force, Osipyan said that any officer who had acted illegally would be held responsible. “If there has been any excessive force used, I personally apologize. An investigation by the chief of police is already underway and I can assure you that all those who used excessive force will be held responsible and given appropriate punishment,” he said.
National Assembly member and Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Supreme Council representative Aghvan Vardanyan told reporters that those responsible for what happened to protesters on the morning of June 23 should be held accountable. Vardanyan added that the protesting youth were peaceful, well organized, and within their rights as citizens, and that those responsible for breaking up their protest should be punished.
On June 23, the ARF Press Office issued a statement demanding the release of the arrested protesters, as well as an investigation into all instances of the use of excessive force by authorities.
Good times are coming. Finally, a new generation is rising. Away from Sovietize thinking and possibly we are going to have new leadership who are going to take the country into a new and better Armenia.
{Away from Sovietize thinking…}
What exactly do you call “Sovietize thinking”? In the Soviet Union there was nothing close—in character, scale or magnitude—to the level and depth of modern-day corruption, lawlessness, unemployment, and social injustice that western-style “democracy” and market relations brought on Armenia after independence.
Good job and Good Luck…..finally some people are speaking up….God bless you keep up the good work……
Dear John: in Soviet Times the Armenian authorities just sent what…100,000 Armenians to Gulags? and murdered our 4 greatest Western Armenian writers including Zabel Yessayan…and you must be right.. the KGB was known for its democratic, kind nature..the people in power now are the remnants of communist apparatchiks and though I don’t believe in laissez-faire capitalism, I agree that i hope a new generation is rising.
Dear Chris,
My comment was in reference to a remark “away from Sovietize thinking” made by a poster in a thread that touches on citizens’ protests against RoA government’s electricity fare hike. I tried to put my two cents to the general understanding that it’s incorrect to lump all Armenia’s ills on unspecified “Sovietize” thinking, because many of Armenia’s present-day ills are not so much the direct result of its Soviet past, as the consequence of western-style “democracy” and ruthless market relations that were brought upon Armenia after independence. What Gulags and KGB have to do with this particular issue, perhaps only you understand. No one denies or condones excesses and iniquitous practices that we know were also part of the Soviet system. But however hard we try to only focus on shortcomings of that system, it is an undeniable fact that the Soviet-era governmental corruption is dwarf as compared with the corruption that capitalist laws of the jungle produced in a country like Armenia. Not to say about lawlessness, unemployment or social injustice that were miniscule in proportions as compared to the present times. We don’t have to paint any historical era either in black or white color. Many intellectuals were murdered during the 1930s purges, but look at the long list of how many intellectuals Soviet Armenia had produced during the same Soviet times. I hope the new generation that’s rising will make the right choice in order to avoid both Soviet totalitarianism and Western-style democracy-turned-oligarchy.
P.S. Chris, have you ever attempted to demonstrate with some 50 of your supporters against just one out of many of this “democratic” government’s policies and practices by blocking one of the main streets in a major US city? What do you think the “democratic” police in this “democratic” country would do?
As far as I can tell, these protests are not tied to any one political party (correct me if I’m wrong). And that’s significant. It’s more grass-roots and full of the young generation who is willing to speak up.
It also represents pent up frustrations which is shared by the public in general. The government is treading carefully after the initial attack on the demonstrators and the press.
We’ll see how this plays out.