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DISCRIMINATION AGAINST RAFFI HOVHANNISYAN; THE LAW PERMITS ONE TO PUT UP A TENT
March 13 2013
"Forbidding Raffi Hovhannisyan to put up a tent is illegal," Artak
Zeynalyan, a human rights advocate and a member of the Republic Party
political council, stated during a conversation with www.aravot.am.
Let us remind that Karen Andreasyan, the Human Rights Defender, also
stated with regard to forbidding Raffi Hovhannisyan to put up a tent
that the law didn't forbid that. The main reason of the government
for not allowing putting up a tent was that one cannot put up a tent
in Freedom Square, since it was the backyard of a cultural center.
Responding to this reasoning, Mr. Zeynalyan stated: "A cultural
center is also for people to protest around it and have a cover over
their heads as protection against rain. What is the purpose of those
cultural centers? On the other hand, the cultural center should
be in the shadow of Freedom Square, since Armenia's independence
was formed there." In response to our question whether there was
discrimination against R. Hovhannisyan, Mr. Zeynalyan said: "There
is also discrimination here, and it cannot be justified from both
human and legal perspectives." Vardan Harutyunyan, the head of the
Rights and Freedom Center NGO, also considered the issue from legal
and human perspectives. He noted: "From the legal perspective, one can
put up a tent. However, the human perspective is more important. When
one is sitting in Freedom Square, one is on a hunger strike, and it
is raining, what prevents people from helping that person? And the
authorities try to create impossible, difficult conditions for people.
I don't know whether it is their nature or their habit to impede
people, make it as bad as possible. The issue of putting up a tent
should have been solved in a minute. If one is on a hunger strike,
one should have a tent, period." In response to our question why when
Andreas Ghukasyan, a candidate for president, was on a hunger strike
in front of the National Academy of Sciences building a month ago,
he was allowed to put up a cover, whether the National Academy of
Sciences building was not a cultural center, V. Harutyunyan said the
following: "I don't want to compare. Those are different things. He
was a candidate for president, and the government was so sure of its
victory that they didn't pay attention not only to hunger strikers,
but also to rivals. There conviction was unshakeable. And Raffi's
victory was like snow in summer. They have lost their heads because
of that, and they consider Raffi not as a candidate for president,
but rather as an enemy in the same way as Levon Ter-Petrossian in 2008.
The government sees Raffi and itself in opposite trenches today;
that is why they don't treat him as they treated Ghukasyan and would
treat anyone else." Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2013/03/13/152925/
© 1998 - 2013 Aravot - News from Armenia
March 13 2013
"Forbidding Raffi Hovhannisyan to put up a tent is illegal," Artak
Zeynalyan, a human rights advocate and a member of the Republic Party
political council, stated during a conversation with www.aravot.am.
Let us remind that Karen Andreasyan, the Human Rights Defender, also
stated with regard to forbidding Raffi Hovhannisyan to put up a tent
that the law didn't forbid that. The main reason of the government
for not allowing putting up a tent was that one cannot put up a tent
in Freedom Square, since it was the backyard of a cultural center.
Responding to this reasoning, Mr. Zeynalyan stated: "A cultural
center is also for people to protest around it and have a cover over
their heads as protection against rain. What is the purpose of those
cultural centers? On the other hand, the cultural center should
be in the shadow of Freedom Square, since Armenia's independence
was formed there." In response to our question whether there was
discrimination against R. Hovhannisyan, Mr. Zeynalyan said: "There
is also discrimination here, and it cannot be justified from both
human and legal perspectives." Vardan Harutyunyan, the head of the
Rights and Freedom Center NGO, also considered the issue from legal
and human perspectives. He noted: "From the legal perspective, one can
put up a tent. However, the human perspective is more important. When
one is sitting in Freedom Square, one is on a hunger strike, and it
is raining, what prevents people from helping that person? And the
authorities try to create impossible, difficult conditions for people.
I don't know whether it is their nature or their habit to impede
people, make it as bad as possible. The issue of putting up a tent
should have been solved in a minute. If one is on a hunger strike,
one should have a tent, period." In response to our question why when
Andreas Ghukasyan, a candidate for president, was on a hunger strike
in front of the National Academy of Sciences building a month ago,
he was allowed to put up a cover, whether the National Academy of
Sciences building was not a cultural center, V. Harutyunyan said the
following: "I don't want to compare. Those are different things. He
was a candidate for president, and the government was so sure of its
victory that they didn't pay attention not only to hunger strikers,
but also to rivals. There conviction was unshakeable. And Raffi's
victory was like snow in summer. They have lost their heads because
of that, and they consider Raffi not as a candidate for president,
but rather as an enemy in the same way as Levon Ter-Petrossian in 2008.
The government sees Raffi and itself in opposite trenches today;
that is why they don't treat him as they treated Ghukasyan and would
treat anyone else." Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2013/03/13/152925/
© 1998 - 2013 Aravot - News from Armenia