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PROTESTERS UNDER ATTACK IN ARMENIA
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #702
Sept 20 2013
International outcry at assaults on demonstrators in the capital.
By Anna Muradyan - Caucasus
International human rights groups have raised concerns about attacks
on demonstrators in the Armenian capital Yerevan, following a summer
of protests.
The latest incident happened on the evening of September 5, following
a demonstration against President Serzh Sargsyan's decision to enter
the Moscow-led Customs Union.
Late in the evening, a group of men got out of a jeep and attacked
Haykak Arshamyan, an analyst with the Yerevan Press Club, and
Suren Saghatelyan, from the anti-corruption group Transparency
International, who had attended the protest. Arshamyan's nose was
broken, and Saghatelyan sustained a head injury.
Prosecutors are yet to open a criminal case. Although it is not
clear who the assailants were, video footage of uniformed police also
beating protesters has appeared on the internet. Karen Andreasyan,
Armenia's official human rights ombudsman, sent a letter to the head
of the city police to demand an explanation.
"From studying the videos widely shown in the media, there are
questions about the legality of the actions of individual police
officers in relation to some citizens," the letter said.
Police chief Vladimir Gasparyan has not yet responded. But his deputy
Valery Osipyan was in no mood to apologise, insisting that police had
acted entirely within the law by detaining some demonstrators for a
short period and then releasing them.
"If anything, they have been too moderate," he said. "Only citizens
who broke the law were detained, or those who did not obey the lawful
demands made by the police. In future, the police will perhaps adopt
more severe actions, and will follow the letter of the law."
The United States embassy urged the government to find and punish
those responsible for the attacks, as did international human rights
organisations.
Andrey Sorokin, head of the Yerevan office of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, issued a statement two days after
the attack, saying, "I am concerned about the reported violation of
the right to peaceful assembly, harassment, and undue pressure on
the demonstrators during street protests in Yerevan. Cases of direct
intimidation and physical attacks against civic activists such as
those perpetrated on September 5... are highly regrettable."
Denis Krivosheev, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at
the international human rights group Amnesty International, said,
"The Armenian authorities have committed to ensure that activists can
carry out their work without interference, obstacles, discrimination
or fear of retaliation. To honour this commitment means only one
thing in this particular case, that the attack on the two activists
is investigated impartially and effectively and the perpetrators are
found and brought to justice."
The September 5 demonstration was part of a wave of protests in
Yerevan, which has rarely seen anything like it.
They began after July 25, when Mayor Taron Margaryan announced higher
fares for public transport. Most travellers ignored the announcement
and continued paying 100 drams (25 US cents), rather than the new
fare of 150 drams. That forced Margaryan to cancel the increase five
days later.
This victory inspired protesters to come out against other unpopular
government decisions. On August 24, two separate protests began, one
on Komitas Avenue demanding a halt to construction of a new building,
and the other outside city hall, where protesters called for the
resignation of senior public transport officials.
On Komitas Avenue, protesters blocked traffic by lying on the tarmac
until police officers eventually dragged them away. Police detained
40 people, holding them for three hours.
That evening, three people were badly beaten, and another 15
demonstrators were slightly injured after clashes with police.
Prosecutors launched criminal proceedings against one of those at
the Komitas Avenue demonstration, Argishti Kiviryan, a coordinator
at news outlet Armenia Today. Police filed an action accusing him of
using force against officers. Kiviryan was left concussed after he
was beaten by police.
Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan said no police force anywhere in the
world would have tolerated protesters blocking a street and refusing
to move.
"In that sense, the police's actions were entirely legal," he said.
Anna Muradyan is a reporter for www.hetq.am.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/protesters-under-attack-armenia
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #702
Sept 20 2013
International outcry at assaults on demonstrators in the capital.
By Anna Muradyan - Caucasus
International human rights groups have raised concerns about attacks
on demonstrators in the Armenian capital Yerevan, following a summer
of protests.
The latest incident happened on the evening of September 5, following
a demonstration against President Serzh Sargsyan's decision to enter
the Moscow-led Customs Union.
Late in the evening, a group of men got out of a jeep and attacked
Haykak Arshamyan, an analyst with the Yerevan Press Club, and
Suren Saghatelyan, from the anti-corruption group Transparency
International, who had attended the protest. Arshamyan's nose was
broken, and Saghatelyan sustained a head injury.
Prosecutors are yet to open a criminal case. Although it is not
clear who the assailants were, video footage of uniformed police also
beating protesters has appeared on the internet. Karen Andreasyan,
Armenia's official human rights ombudsman, sent a letter to the head
of the city police to demand an explanation.
"From studying the videos widely shown in the media, there are
questions about the legality of the actions of individual police
officers in relation to some citizens," the letter said.
Police chief Vladimir Gasparyan has not yet responded. But his deputy
Valery Osipyan was in no mood to apologise, insisting that police had
acted entirely within the law by detaining some demonstrators for a
short period and then releasing them.
"If anything, they have been too moderate," he said. "Only citizens
who broke the law were detained, or those who did not obey the lawful
demands made by the police. In future, the police will perhaps adopt
more severe actions, and will follow the letter of the law."
The United States embassy urged the government to find and punish
those responsible for the attacks, as did international human rights
organisations.
Andrey Sorokin, head of the Yerevan office of the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, issued a statement two days after
the attack, saying, "I am concerned about the reported violation of
the right to peaceful assembly, harassment, and undue pressure on
the demonstrators during street protests in Yerevan. Cases of direct
intimidation and physical attacks against civic activists such as
those perpetrated on September 5... are highly regrettable."
Denis Krivosheev, deputy director for Europe and Central Asia at
the international human rights group Amnesty International, said,
"The Armenian authorities have committed to ensure that activists can
carry out their work without interference, obstacles, discrimination
or fear of retaliation. To honour this commitment means only one
thing in this particular case, that the attack on the two activists
is investigated impartially and effectively and the perpetrators are
found and brought to justice."
The September 5 demonstration was part of a wave of protests in
Yerevan, which has rarely seen anything like it.
They began after July 25, when Mayor Taron Margaryan announced higher
fares for public transport. Most travellers ignored the announcement
and continued paying 100 drams (25 US cents), rather than the new
fare of 150 drams. That forced Margaryan to cancel the increase five
days later.
This victory inspired protesters to come out against other unpopular
government decisions. On August 24, two separate protests began, one
on Komitas Avenue demanding a halt to construction of a new building,
and the other outside city hall, where protesters called for the
resignation of senior public transport officials.
On Komitas Avenue, protesters blocked traffic by lying on the tarmac
until police officers eventually dragged them away. Police detained
40 people, holding them for three hours.
That evening, three people were badly beaten, and another 15
demonstrators were slightly injured after clashes with police.
Prosecutors launched criminal proceedings against one of those at
the Komitas Avenue demonstration, Argishti Kiviryan, a coordinator
at news outlet Armenia Today. Police filed an action accusing him of
using force against officers. Kiviryan was left concussed after he
was beaten by police.
Justice Minister Hrayr Tovmasyan said no police force anywhere in the
world would have tolerated protesters blocking a street and refusing
to move.
"In that sense, the police's actions were entirely legal," he said.
Anna Muradyan is a reporter for www.hetq.am.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/protesters-under-attack-armenia