ARF members, supporters and sympathizers will not be intimidated
The current authorities of the Republic of Armenia, facing a crisis of legitimacy, have taken lawlessness against political opponents to a new level by ruthlessly exploiting the law enforcement system to advance their political objectives. Not content with unlawful wiretapping, arrests, detention and numerous illegal criminal prosecutions, the compliant investigative bodies have now turned to persecuting individuals who have made donations to opposition political parties.
For a considerable period, the investigative authorities have, in essence, been unlawfully apprehending and illegally “interrogating” members and supporters of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), as well as ordinary citizens, solely because they made donations to the party in full compliance with the requirements of the law. This is occurring despite the fact that numerous irrefutable reports published in the media point to the Civil Contract party itself receiving illicit income and making comprehensive and impermissible use of administrative resources during the elections for its own partisan interests. As expected, in this case the law enforcement and other competent authorities remain silent.
Assessing all of the above as a clear violation of Articles 8 and 46 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, as well as an obvious attempt to undermine the foundations of democracy:
- We call upon international organizations and election observation missions to provide an appropriate and impartial assessment of the conduct of the ruling regime.
- We demand that the law enforcement authorities immediately return to the framework of legality by complying with the requirements of the Constitution and the Constitutional Law on Political Parties.
- We draw the public’s attention to the political authorities’ pursuit of one-man neo-Bolshevism and to the state-sponsored electoral corruption being carried out at the national level.
We declare that the many thousands of ARF members, supporters and sympathizers will not yield to the illegal actions of the repressive state apparatus, will not be intimidated by fabricated interrogations, and will continue their struggle against the current regime with determination, in the name of a lawful, democratic and secure Armenia.
ARF Supreme Body of Armenia
