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Letter of the Chairman of HCA Vanadzor to the President of the United States
13:54 04/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index.php/eng/0/right/view/29161
On March 2, 2013, the Armenian media disseminated your congratulatory
message to the acting president of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh
Sargsyan on being reelected as the president of Armenia on February
18, 2013. Your congratulation came right when the OSCE/ODIHR
disseminated their post-election interim report (March 2, 2013), which
emphasized the public distrust toward the election results and
numerous facts and justifications for this distrust, including the
correlation between the high turnout and the number of votes for Serzh
Sargsyan, which duly raises concerns regarding the integrity of the
electoral process. Your congratulation was disseminated when Amnesty
International released a statement (February 28, 2013) demanding that
proper investigation be carried out on the reported human rights
violations which took place on February 18, 2012.
I and a number of colleagues and fellows received Universal Rights
Awards from the US Government on June 4, 2012, and the US Secretary of
State, Hillary Clinton was present at the official ceremony. We were
excited about the support from the Government of a Democratic State to
those of us fighting for the establishment of human rights and
democracy. Although local nationalists again labeled us as traitors of
national interests, implementers of color revolutions, agents defaming
our state for foreign money and so on, but these qualifications were
not new to us. And they never lead us in our human rights activity.
However your congratulation is absolutely inappropriate for these
elections, which were accompanied by flagrant fraud and violations.
You undertook immediate responsibility for the falsifications, by
congratulating those who falsified the elections, who are directly
responsible for human rights transgressions, systemic and organized
violations, transgressions and destruction of democratic values. In
this case, we do not have any guarantee that Armenia will not turn
into another Belarus. Now I am considering if I deserve to bear the
Freedom Defender Award, which was awarded by the government of a
democratic state, which is now apparently siding with an Oppressor of
Freedom.
With this letter, I express my deepest concern about your position and
expect to hear your comments on the issues raised in the letter. I
will be able to make a final decision based on your response and
comments.
With regards,
Artur Sakunts, Chairman of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly - Vanadzor
13:54 04/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index.php/eng/0/right/view/29161
On March 2, 2013, the Armenian media disseminated your congratulatory
message to the acting president of the Republic of Armenia, Serzh
Sargsyan on being reelected as the president of Armenia on February
18, 2013. Your congratulation came right when the OSCE/ODIHR
disseminated their post-election interim report (March 2, 2013), which
emphasized the public distrust toward the election results and
numerous facts and justifications for this distrust, including the
correlation between the high turnout and the number of votes for Serzh
Sargsyan, which duly raises concerns regarding the integrity of the
electoral process. Your congratulation was disseminated when Amnesty
International released a statement (February 28, 2013) demanding that
proper investigation be carried out on the reported human rights
violations which took place on February 18, 2012.
I and a number of colleagues and fellows received Universal Rights
Awards from the US Government on June 4, 2012, and the US Secretary of
State, Hillary Clinton was present at the official ceremony. We were
excited about the support from the Government of a Democratic State to
those of us fighting for the establishment of human rights and
democracy. Although local nationalists again labeled us as traitors of
national interests, implementers of color revolutions, agents defaming
our state for foreign money and so on, but these qualifications were
not new to us. And they never lead us in our human rights activity.
However your congratulation is absolutely inappropriate for these
elections, which were accompanied by flagrant fraud and violations.
You undertook immediate responsibility for the falsifications, by
congratulating those who falsified the elections, who are directly
responsible for human rights transgressions, systemic and organized
violations, transgressions and destruction of democratic values. In
this case, we do not have any guarantee that Armenia will not turn
into another Belarus. Now I am considering if I deserve to bear the
Freedom Defender Award, which was awarded by the government of a
democratic state, which is now apparently siding with an Oppressor of
Freedom.
With this letter, I express my deepest concern about your position and
expect to hear your comments on the issues raised in the letter. I
will be able to make a final decision based on your response and
comments.
With regards,
Artur Sakunts, Chairman of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly - Vanadzor