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OPPOSITION PARTY DECRIES INCIDENT WITH RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS AS 'EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE'
The opposition Heritage party has condemned the incident in which its
members, while being on an election campaign trip, were stopped by
Russian border guards in the southern Syunik province. In a statement
issued today it called it a "gross external interference in domestic
political processes."
The incident occurred Wednesday evening when Russian border guards
deployed in Syunik to protect the Armenian state frontier under an
interstate Armenian-Russian agreement stopped the car with Heritage
members, including MP Zaruhi Postanjyan, and began to search it. In the
altercation that ensued one of the Russian servicemen reportedly broke
the camera with which a Heritage member tried to record the incident.
Postanjyan told media that the Russian servicemen did not explain
their actions at first. Only afterwards they said they had stopped the
car as part of a search for a wanted person. They did not let the car
proceed until they learned that there was a member of parliament in it.
The Heritage team was in Syunik as part of a campaign in the September
29 parliamentary by-election in which the opposition party has fielded
a candidate against a ruling party member.
In the statement Heritage contended that the incident happened
"with the connivance of the Republican Party of Armenia and de-facto
president Serzh Sargsyan, if not their immediate participation."
"We demand that the Russian authorities in Armenia formally apologize
and provide explanations in connection with the inadmissible incident,
and also demand that the Armenian law-enforcement and judicial bodies
properly investigate the incident and bring those responsible to
justice," concluded Heritage.
http://armenianow.com/news/48759/armenia_heritage_party_russian_border_guards
The opposition Heritage party has condemned the incident in which its
members, while being on an election campaign trip, were stopped by
Russian border guards in the southern Syunik province. In a statement
issued today it called it a "gross external interference in domestic
political processes."
The incident occurred Wednesday evening when Russian border guards
deployed in Syunik to protect the Armenian state frontier under an
interstate Armenian-Russian agreement stopped the car with Heritage
members, including MP Zaruhi Postanjyan, and began to search it. In the
altercation that ensued one of the Russian servicemen reportedly broke
the camera with which a Heritage member tried to record the incident.
Postanjyan told media that the Russian servicemen did not explain
their actions at first. Only afterwards they said they had stopped the
car as part of a search for a wanted person. They did not let the car
proceed until they learned that there was a member of parliament in it.
The Heritage team was in Syunik as part of a campaign in the September
29 parliamentary by-election in which the opposition party has fielded
a candidate against a ruling party member.
In the statement Heritage contended that the incident happened
"with the connivance of the Republican Party of Armenia and de-facto
president Serzh Sargsyan, if not their immediate participation."
"We demand that the Russian authorities in Armenia formally apologize
and provide explanations in connection with the inadmissible incident,
and also demand that the Armenian law-enforcement and judicial bodies
properly investigate the incident and bring those responsible to
justice," concluded Heritage.
http://armenianow.com/news/48759/armenia_heritage_party_russian_border_guards