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Woman Power: Jailed oppositionists' relatives raise concerns before Europe
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter
Published: 15 April, 2008
A group of Armenian women claiming that their jailed relatives are political
prisoners are set to turn areas near major European embassies and
representations in Yerevan into scenes of their daily protests as a
prestigious pan-European organization's key body is discussing Armenia this
week.
The wives and other relatives of jailed opposition members continued their
protest on Tuesday near the French Embassy in Yerevan. Tomorrow it will
proceed near the Embassy of Germany and on Thursday, the day when the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is due to review the
situation of democratic institutions in Armenia, women plan to hold a picket
near the Council of Europe's Yerevan office.
Dozens who claim that their family members are political prisoners began the
four-day protest campaign on Monday, some wearing imitation handcuffs and
carrying images of their jailed loved ones.
`We show that as wives, mothers, relatives of political prisoners we
subscribe to the demands that have already been sent to the Council of
Europe,' Melissa Brown, the American wife of Armenia's jailed ex-foreign
minister Alexander Arzumanyan, said.
Students of the European Academy situated near the Council of Europe's
office tried to approach the protesting women, however police advised them
to go away.
Tsovinar Samsonyan, the wife of jailed oppositionist Hovhannes Ghazaryan,
says it is their duty to stage some actions.
`This is not only the issue of our husbands, but also that of the whole
Armenian people. If a man is illegally kept in custody, the same fate may
threaten anyone,' she said.
And Anahit Grigoryan, who said she was an ordinary citizen who joined the
women's protests, said that she was fighting for her rights to live as a
freewoman in her country.
`I cannot accept that such guys are in jail on fabricated cases and outside
there is a feast where they eat cakes and stage hot air balloon shows. This
is inadmissible. An elected president takes an oath in front of his people,
he does not run away and avoid his people,' she claimed.
The women said they would continue their protest using all legal means.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Russia's Novye Izvestiya newspaper on April
14, Armenia's first president and opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan
described Armenia as the only country of the Council of Europe where there
are political prisoners.
`The number of political prisoners in Armenia reaches 150. Almost all of my
proxies, all heads of my campaign offices have been arrested,' Ter-Petrosyan
said.
Brown said that on Monday they sent a letter to the PACE. The letter,
according to her, had been signed by thousands of citizens who expect `an
independent inquiry into the March 1 events, express their concern over
arrests of opposition leaders and demand that the amendments to Armenia's
law on assemblies be recognized as anti-democratic.'
Woman Power: Jailed oppositionists' relatives raise concerns before Europe
By Gayane Lazarian
ArmeniaNow reporter
Published: 15 April, 2008
A group of Armenian women claiming that their jailed relatives are political
prisoners are set to turn areas near major European embassies and
representations in Yerevan into scenes of their daily protests as a
prestigious pan-European organization's key body is discussing Armenia this
week.
The wives and other relatives of jailed opposition members continued their
protest on Tuesday near the French Embassy in Yerevan. Tomorrow it will
proceed near the Embassy of Germany and on Thursday, the day when the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is due to review the
situation of democratic institutions in Armenia, women plan to hold a picket
near the Council of Europe's Yerevan office.
Dozens who claim that their family members are political prisoners began the
four-day protest campaign on Monday, some wearing imitation handcuffs and
carrying images of their jailed loved ones.
`We show that as wives, mothers, relatives of political prisoners we
subscribe to the demands that have already been sent to the Council of
Europe,' Melissa Brown, the American wife of Armenia's jailed ex-foreign
minister Alexander Arzumanyan, said.
Students of the European Academy situated near the Council of Europe's
office tried to approach the protesting women, however police advised them
to go away.
Tsovinar Samsonyan, the wife of jailed oppositionist Hovhannes Ghazaryan,
says it is their duty to stage some actions.
`This is not only the issue of our husbands, but also that of the whole
Armenian people. If a man is illegally kept in custody, the same fate may
threaten anyone,' she said.
And Anahit Grigoryan, who said she was an ordinary citizen who joined the
women's protests, said that she was fighting for her rights to live as a
freewoman in her country.
`I cannot accept that such guys are in jail on fabricated cases and outside
there is a feast where they eat cakes and stage hot air balloon shows. This
is inadmissible. An elected president takes an oath in front of his people,
he does not run away and avoid his people,' she claimed.
The women said they would continue their protest using all legal means.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Russia's Novye Izvestiya newspaper on April
14, Armenia's first president and opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan
described Armenia as the only country of the Council of Europe where there
are political prisoners.
`The number of political prisoners in Armenia reaches 150. Almost all of my
proxies, all heads of my campaign offices have been arrested,' Ter-Petrosyan
said.
Brown said that on Monday they sent a letter to the PACE. The letter,
according to her, had been signed by thousands of citizens who expect `an
independent inquiry into the March 1 events, express their concern over
arrests of opposition leaders and demand that the amendments to Armenia's
law on assemblies be recognized as anti-democratic.'