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PRESS RELEASE
The Civilitas Foundation
One Northern Avenue, Suite 30
Yerevan, Armenia 0002
+37410.500119; +37494.800754
www.civilitasfoundation.org
www.CivilNet.am
PETITION CAMPAIGN CALLS ON ARMENIA'S GOVERNMENT TO CEASE PROSECUTION OF
FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER VARTAN OSKANIAN AND THE CIVILITAS FOUNDATION
On October 8, the Armenian government will charge Vartan Oskanian with
embezzlement and money laundering. The charges carry a four to 20 year
prison sentence.
Civilitas has launched a petition addressed to the Armenian government,
calling for a stop to this persecution. Signatures can be added at
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-government-of-armenia-stop-persecution-of-vartan-oskanian-and-the-civilitas-foundation#
Given the timing of the opening of the investigation (the day after Mr.
Oskanian's party announced it was going into opposition) and the lack of
any evidence that any crime was committed, the move is widely seen as an
attempt to intimidate political opponents and stifle dissent and open media
in the country before presidential elections scheduled for this coming
February.
Vartan Oskanian served as Armenia's foreign minister for ten years (1998 to
2008). He was born and raised in Syria but moved to Armenia to pursue his
higher education and subsequently earned Master's degrees from Tufts and
Harvard universities in the United States. He moved back to Armenia in the
first days of independence. In 2008, Oskanian established the Civilitas
Foundation with the goal of strengthening Armenia's civil society and in
2011, Civilitas launched an Internet based News channel, CivilNet.am, as
well as a daily newspaper, Orakarg. In May 2012, Mr. Oskanian was elected
to parliament with the Prosperous Armenia Party, which with 38 seats, is
second only to the ruling Republican Party.
The government has put forward the hard-to-understand claim that it is
protecting the interests of Civilitas by accusing its founder, Vartan
Oskanian, of embezzlement and money laundering -- charges which carry a
four to 20 year prison sentence. According to the petition presented to
Parliament by the Prosecutor General, the charges relate to a January 2011
donation to Civilitas from Mr. Jon Huntsman, Sr., which came partially
(approximately $600,000) to Civilitas directly, and partially ($1,427,000)
through Mr. Oskanian, to allocate to Civilitas as necessary, at his
discretion, with no deadline. The entire amount Mr. Huntsman gave to Mr.
Oskanian for Civilitas, plus the $129,000 interest it earned in Mr.
Oskanian's account, has been received by Civilitas.
Oskanian and Civilitas insist that this is political persecution. The 2012
May 6 parliamentary elections were the first in 20 years where there was a
serious challenge to the ruling party. That challenge came in the form of
the Prosperous Party, which Mr. Vartan Oskanian, a former foreign minister
(1998 to 2008) had joined a few months earlier.
Mr. Oskanian's consistent message was the need to establish a balance of
powers and do away with the political monopoly. In the pre-election period,
Prosperous Armenia led the effort to form a united commission, with members
from all parties, to insist and oversee that voting procedures be changed
in order to assure a transparent vote. The ruling party did not join that
Commission.
Two weeks after the election, on 24 May 2012, in a move Mr. Oskanian had
been publicly advocating for weeks, the Prosperous Armenia Party announced
it would not join a government coalition but would go into opposition. The
very next day, 25 May 2012, the National Security Service opened this
criminal investigation.
Civilitas Foundation Director Salpi Ghazarian, a dual US-Armenia citizen
and a long-time activist, is also under attack.
During the election period, CivilNet.am proved itself as a source of new
and reliable information. CivilNet produced over 400 election-related
reports in the six weeks preceding the election. Their Internet and
YouTube popularity can be easily measured and is a demonstration of
CivilNet's willingness to give voice to the voiceless, regardless of
political inclination, to cover all political players equally (including
Mr. Oskanian) and to respect the young and disconnected audience and make
news interesting to them. The daily newspaper, Orakarg, which highlights
economic news and analysis, frequently comments on the government's
economic program.
The timing of the case in relation to challenges by these media and to
political events makes it clear that the real motive of the investigation
and prosecution is political.
`The signature campaign is an easy but effective way of demonstrating that
people the world over recognize the political intent behind this circus.
The charges are absurd, the persons involved are public, transparent and
beyond reproach. By joining the signature campaign, you give us the tools
with which to say to the Armenian government that this is something that
goes beyond Mr. Oskanian. It hits directly at Civilitas. It hits directly
at you, at anyone committed to an open, democratic, principled future for
Armenia and Armenians,' said Mrs. Ghazarian.
The Civilitas Foundation
One Northern Avenue, Suite 30
Yerevan, Armenia 0002
+37410.500119; +37494.800754
www.civilitasfoundation.org
www.CivilNet.am
PETITION CAMPAIGN CALLS ON ARMENIA'S GOVERNMENT TO CEASE PROSECUTION OF
FORMER FOREIGN MINISTER VARTAN OSKANIAN AND THE CIVILITAS FOUNDATION
On October 8, the Armenian government will charge Vartan Oskanian with
embezzlement and money laundering. The charges carry a four to 20 year
prison sentence.
Civilitas has launched a petition addressed to the Armenian government,
calling for a stop to this persecution. Signatures can be added at
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-government-of-armenia-stop-persecution-of-vartan-oskanian-and-the-civilitas-foundation#
Given the timing of the opening of the investigation (the day after Mr.
Oskanian's party announced it was going into opposition) and the lack of
any evidence that any crime was committed, the move is widely seen as an
attempt to intimidate political opponents and stifle dissent and open media
in the country before presidential elections scheduled for this coming
February.
Vartan Oskanian served as Armenia's foreign minister for ten years (1998 to
2008). He was born and raised in Syria but moved to Armenia to pursue his
higher education and subsequently earned Master's degrees from Tufts and
Harvard universities in the United States. He moved back to Armenia in the
first days of independence. In 2008, Oskanian established the Civilitas
Foundation with the goal of strengthening Armenia's civil society and in
2011, Civilitas launched an Internet based News channel, CivilNet.am, as
well as a daily newspaper, Orakarg. In May 2012, Mr. Oskanian was elected
to parliament with the Prosperous Armenia Party, which with 38 seats, is
second only to the ruling Republican Party.
The government has put forward the hard-to-understand claim that it is
protecting the interests of Civilitas by accusing its founder, Vartan
Oskanian, of embezzlement and money laundering -- charges which carry a
four to 20 year prison sentence. According to the petition presented to
Parliament by the Prosecutor General, the charges relate to a January 2011
donation to Civilitas from Mr. Jon Huntsman, Sr., which came partially
(approximately $600,000) to Civilitas directly, and partially ($1,427,000)
through Mr. Oskanian, to allocate to Civilitas as necessary, at his
discretion, with no deadline. The entire amount Mr. Huntsman gave to Mr.
Oskanian for Civilitas, plus the $129,000 interest it earned in Mr.
Oskanian's account, has been received by Civilitas.
Oskanian and Civilitas insist that this is political persecution. The 2012
May 6 parliamentary elections were the first in 20 years where there was a
serious challenge to the ruling party. That challenge came in the form of
the Prosperous Party, which Mr. Vartan Oskanian, a former foreign minister
(1998 to 2008) had joined a few months earlier.
Mr. Oskanian's consistent message was the need to establish a balance of
powers and do away with the political monopoly. In the pre-election period,
Prosperous Armenia led the effort to form a united commission, with members
from all parties, to insist and oversee that voting procedures be changed
in order to assure a transparent vote. The ruling party did not join that
Commission.
Two weeks after the election, on 24 May 2012, in a move Mr. Oskanian had
been publicly advocating for weeks, the Prosperous Armenia Party announced
it would not join a government coalition but would go into opposition. The
very next day, 25 May 2012, the National Security Service opened this
criminal investigation.
Civilitas Foundation Director Salpi Ghazarian, a dual US-Armenia citizen
and a long-time activist, is also under attack.
During the election period, CivilNet.am proved itself as a source of new
and reliable information. CivilNet produced over 400 election-related
reports in the six weeks preceding the election. Their Internet and
YouTube popularity can be easily measured and is a demonstration of
CivilNet's willingness to give voice to the voiceless, regardless of
political inclination, to cover all political players equally (including
Mr. Oskanian) and to respect the young and disconnected audience and make
news interesting to them. The daily newspaper, Orakarg, which highlights
economic news and analysis, frequently comments on the government's
economic program.
The timing of the case in relation to challenges by these media and to
political events makes it clear that the real motive of the investigation
and prosecution is political.
`The signature campaign is an easy but effective way of demonstrating that
people the world over recognize the political intent behind this circus.
The charges are absurd, the persons involved are public, transparent and
beyond reproach. By joining the signature campaign, you give us the tools
with which to say to the Armenian government that this is something that
goes beyond Mr. Oskanian. It hits directly at Civilitas. It hits directly
at you, at anyone committed to an open, democratic, principled future for
Armenia and Armenians,' said Mrs. Ghazarian.