Political prisoners, violations, and silence all continue...

Lindblad is in essence boycotting the Council of Europe Democracy Forum which is to be held later this month in Yerevan. Having apparently voted against the forum being held in Armenia in the first place, he has stated recently that time and again the scheduled visits by co-rapporteurs to Armenia have been postponed, and members of the Armenian government have denied requests to meet with the Co-rapporteurs on the sidelines of the Forum. In a letter addressed to the Chair of the Armenian Delegation, he harshly criticized the Armenian government, and wrote "[these actions] seem to confirm my assumption that Armenia is not yet mature enough to host the Forum" (the letter is already posted by nazarian). Per Lindblad, the letter upset Co-rapporteur Prescott, who took the side of the Armenian Government.
Postanjyan also had something to say about the matter, pointing out that if Lindblad had really wanted to come, he had multiple prior opportunities, and that in fact, he was too busy with his own election campaign (which he lost) to come to Armenia. A loss which means that after November, Lindblad will no longer be a Co-rapporteur, and will have to be replaced. Per Lindblad, his impending replacement is being used by the Armenian government, that they are likely waiting for his replacement with "a less independent rapporteur" to allow the visit.

All of this is very important in its place. But what often gets forgotten in such situations is the fundamental reality that myself and many others have pointed out - Democracy and Human Rights are NOT a priority for PACE, or other Western Countries. Such principles are paraded and flaunted here and there, but are really just tools for bargaining. A few months back a close friend noted that the US at least seemed to have washed its hands of the Armenian situation, almost as if saying it wasn't worth the trouble, and leaving the issue to Russia to deal with. I wasn't sure then if I agreed, and I'm still not sure, but I cant say I completely disagree, either.

Its not just that gross violations of basic human rights and life occurred, it is that they CONTINUE to occur:

Police harassment and ludicrous trials continue, like the ones of Sargis Gevorgyan and Davit Kiramijyan...
Freedom of Press continues to exist only as a shadow, with laws being discussed now that will continue to restrict and silence voices with non-government opinions...
There continue to be over a dozen political prisoners in Armenia, at least one of whom (journalist Nikol Pashinyhan) has recently been threatened as he continues to write opposition articles even from his jail cell...
Liberty Square itself is now a political prisoner... the government continues to refuse any opposition meetings be held in Liberty Square, and continues to add small children's pasttimes to the square to provide an excuse for refusal...

But there is no sound of protest from PACE to any of this, or the myriad of other such violations of humanity.

If opposition voices were to be allowed to have a voice on television, and if Liberty Square was in fact open to the people, that is, if there were even a decent shred of Freedom of Speech, Press, and Assembly, those voices of opposition which have been silenced by fear, would again come to life...

Would the regime fire on the people again?
And if they did, would the world reactions be any different?

Armenia's Police Digging for Excuses

The police seem to really be digging for anything to charge the protesters, especially Ani Gevorgyan, with, these days. And they seem to have really put in a lot of work in trying to convince anyone around that their own actions, violence and arrests are justified.

I took many long looks at the video posted on police.am of the protests over the last weekend of May. First of all, the fact that these incidents were important enough for them to put together a video, with a voice over, AND then, post it on their website just below their police video, is a sign of just how hard they're trying to justify themselves, and really, just how scared they are. What are they scared of?... In Bazaz's own words

“Large numbers of people must not gather here. If 100, 150 or 200 persons gather here today, this square will become a rally site tomorrow.”

The video they posted is a series of clips from May 29 and May 31- and the only reason I know that is because some of the clips have a date and time at the bottom left, some don't.

Now, Ani is charged with assaulting an officer, but where is the proof?? The video clip, which seems to be offered up as some type of evidence, shows her knocking a hat off of a policeman's head - but no contact with his head, or any other part of his body. Where's the assault?

That portion of the video is not dated, but it is embedded in videos that are from May 31. Yet, it is impossible that that video is from May 31. On May 31, Ani was wearing a RED shirt, but in the video where she knocks off the hat, she is wearing a BLACK shirt. So when is it that video from? Do the police even know?


And, if that video is not from the 31st, it must be from before then, since she was arrested on the 31st. Why didn't they arrest her before, if it happened before? If she hit a police officer on May 31, then it makes sense that they would arrest her on May 31. But I can't find what day she supposedly committed this alleged assault- maybe its somewhere, in some article, but I can't find it. Do the police even know?But all video footage of May 31, from a1plus and azatutyun, show her on the sidelines, camera in her right hand (attached to a right arm in a RED sleeve) in the air, doing her job as a photojournalist. Still no proof of assault.

It seems to me the police went back over their videos and tried to look for something, anything, to charge her on. They came up with this video, that has no date, and threw it in among videos from May 31, to make it look like she was arrested that day she knocked the hat off, to try to justify their own actions.

[Top photo is of Davit Kiramijyan, who remains in prison on charges of hooliganism, from a1plus]

Alik Sargsyan: drop the charges, resign, and go - and take your little gang with you

These are pictures of Sargis Gevorgyan, Ani Gevorgyan, and Davit Kiramijyan. These three were arrested on May 31 after being present during a peaceful protest in Liberty Square (well, at least it started out that way until the police got involved, as usual). Ani Gevorgyan, in fact, is a photojournalist, and her presence in that regard is protected by numerous international human rights laws. Not to mention that the rights of Sargis Gevorgyan and Davit Kiramijyan, and any other citizens, to be present peacefully in Liberty Square is protected by law. Of course, laws, human rights, and logic don't mean much these days under the present regime.

For those not familiar with the system, this is how it works in Armenia. If you piss off a policeman (or policewoman, for that matter), you can be taken in for questioning to the police station - questioning regarding your identity, address, and apparently other basic such information. By the end of three hours, you need to either be released, or charged and arrested. If they charge/arrest you, they can keep you up to 72 hours. By the end of 72 hours, a court decides whether you will stay in detention until your trial (pre-trial detention), be released with travel restrictions and bail, or have all the charges dropped. The pre-trial detention can supposedly be for up to two months, but can be postponed an unlimited number of times, from what I understand.

So, while I am very happy that Ani and Sargis Gevorgyan have been released, the following is true:

1. None of them should have been taken in, arrested or detained, at all;
2. ALL three still have charges against them, and will have to go to court;
3. Davit Kiramijyan is STILL in pre-trial detention

As far as I am concerned, the charges against these individuals, and their detentions, are not only unjust, but completely illegal, as is the persistent violent and aggressive behavior of the RA police against the citizens of Armenia, and the continued attempts at keeping opposition members out of Liberty Square.

And it seems that numerous international and national organizations feel the same way, as several statements have been released which express the same fundamental sentiment.

Kiramijyan needs to be released - but that is only the tip of the iceberg. The charges need to be dropped. Alik Sargsyan(for yet one more reason) needs to resign.

Alik, just go, and take the rest of this banditocracy with you, and don't forget your red berets, your plainclothesed minions, and your snipers. But, maybe, actually, leave Bazaz, because I think maybe he just needs a hug, or a lollipop, or maybe Unzipped has figured something out.

[permission obtained for photo]

Statement on arrest of Ani Gevorgyan

Update: See the official statement in defense of Ani Gevoryan by the Committee to Project Journalists .

Haykakan Zhamanak has put out a statement regarding the arrest of Ani Gevorgyan:

STATEMENT ON THE ARREST OF ANI GEVORGYAN,
JOURNALIST, THE ARMENIAN TIMES DAILY

On May 31, 2010, Ms. Ani Gevorgyan, journalist of Haykakan Zhamanak (The Armenian Times; www.armtimes.com) daily was apprehended in Freedom Square in the center of Yerevan, while performing her professional duties. Ani Gevorgyan was covering an act of resistance initiated by young activists of the Armenian National Congress.

Later that day, Ani Gevorgyan was charged with Part 1, Article 316 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia, "Violence against a State representative." As of today, June 2, 2010, no detail or visual evidence has been provided by the Police regarding the alleged violence by the 23-year old journalist against the police.

During the same act of protest, two other young female journalists were subjected to compulsory appearance to the police department - Suzanna Poghosyan from Haykakan Zhamanak daily and Lilit Tadevosyan from Hayq daily, were subjected to compulsory appearance. The latter two were released within a couple of hours.

The Editorial staff and management of Haykakan Zhamanak daily consider that:

- Violence against journalists and against young women is unacceptable;

- Ani Gevorgyan's arrest is an act of revenge by the head of the Police of Armenia (Mr. Alik Sargsyan), because Ani Gevorgyan is the journalist responsible for the coverage of activities of the RA Police and the National Security Service, among others. In particular, last week Ms. Gevorgyan published two articles that covered the production of a video clip devoted to the police and revealed fraud related to the production of that clip.

- The arrest of journalist Ani Gevorgyan is a violation of the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On dissemination of mass information" (Article 4. Guarantees for the freedom of speech in the sphere of media), which stipulates, inter alia, that "When conducting his or her lawful professional activities, a journalist, as a person performing a social duty, shall be protected by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia", and which prohibits "interfering with lawful professional activities of a journalist."

- Violence against Ani Gevorgyan and her subsequent arrest violate the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (Article 164. Obstructing lawful professional activities of a journalist), which stipulates that "1. Obstructing lawful professional activities of a journalist, or forcing the journalist to disseminate information or not to disseminate information, is punished with a fine in the amount of 200-400 times the minimum salary. 2. The same actions committed by an official abusing his or her official position, is punished with a fine in the amount of 400-700 times the minimum salary, or imprisonment for a term of up to 3 years, by deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or practice certain activities for up to 3 years, or without such deprivation."

Therefore,

We demand that the Police and the authorities of Armenia,

- immediately release Ani Gevorgyan, Haykakan Zhamanak daily journalist;

- stop criminal persecution against Gevorgyan and bring to justice the police officers who exceeded their powers.
--------------------------

So - what's all the fuss? What are these videos that Ani wrote about? She wrote an article noting the incredible similarities between the newly produced RA police hymn and accompanying video, to the not as new hymn and video of the police of the Georgian Republic. She also points out the massive misrepresentations in the armenian version. Unfortunately the piece is not yet available in English, though as Ani Wandaryan points out in my prior post, the google translate version isn't half bad (here).
Both videos are available online, and I've posted them here (thanks again to Ani W. for both the idea, and sources for the videos). Judge for yourselves.

Georgian Video Armenian Video

And to top it off, here is the video of Ani Gevorgyan being taken off by the police (first several minutes of video):



The Committee to Protect Journalists has an article on their website regarding her arrest - here is an excerpt:

“Based on the video and accounts provided by her editor, we’re deeply skeptical of the police allegations against Ani Gevorgian. The evidence indicates that she was at the rally doing her job,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “We join with our Armenian colleagues in calling for Gevorgian’s release.”

If you use twitter, and tweet about any issue related to her, please attach the hashtag #AniG... Each new hashtag seems to be a step further from democracy - #March1, #Pashinyan, #Khalafyan, #AniG, #DollarArmen, #NonuthinAlik #humanrights #Bazaz... hopefully soon new hashtags will actually be a positive thing...

Alik Sargsyan's most fearsome foe: she who carries the camera, the pen, and a brain

Attempts by opposition demonstrators to peacefully just exist, sit, or just walk in the newly re-opened Liberty Square continued after May 29, despite attempts by the RA police and red berets and other such characters to stop them. On May 31, according to various reports, somewhere between tens to 100 demonstrators were present, and approximately 17 individuals were taken into custody, including SDHP chairwoman Lyudmila Sargsyan. 3 of those 17 were reporters, two from HZH and one from Hayk. Ani Gevorgyan, a photojournalist from HZH was one of those three, she was later arrested, she remains in police custody.

She is about 22 or 23 years old per reports. She is charged with hitting one of the police in the face, but per a witness statement in a video taken during the clashes with police, she is the one who got hit - another of the banditocracy's favorite techniques: figure out what they were going to say about you, and turn it around. In fact, it seems she was picked out in advance, as the video records one of the police saying “this is that very journalist.”

Now, why would the RA police and red berets and the rest of that posse (since they are exactly that, a posse) want to persecute this young woman? Just take a look at her recent writings - in addition to working for HZH, a strongly pro-opposition newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is Nikol Pashinyan - she has been writing about Alik Sargsyan, and the RA police. Most recently she commented on just how similar the video for the RA police is to the video for the Georgian police.

On a side note, the police and red berets and the rest of them have somehow decided that undercover, plainclothes police are the way to go in these situations (one of their older strategies). I'm not sure why, since they're easy to pick out - watch any of the videos and within seconds its clear who is who. I wonder if it is for photos, so it appears that there are fewer law enforcement, or to mislead people, or something else entirely.

If I have some time, I'll start a nice little collage of the cops in plainclothes, just so they don't feel underappreciated. We wouldn't want that, now would we?


For more reading: Tert
HZH "Once bit, twice shy", HZH "Revenge"
ArmeniaNow, A1plus "Alik Sargsyan's Revenge"
RFE/RL