He took the role of Serzh Sargsyan’s attorney
Statement of the Armenian National Congress
The Ombudsman presented his annual report recently. In this multifaceted report, the Ombudsman has overlooked the political situation created in Armenia as a result of which there have been infringements on human rights and liberties in 2008, particularly:
thousands of citizens have been persecuted, abused, sentenced and threatened for their political views and legal actions
the institute of political prisoners has been formed and there are currently 56 political prisoners in jails
there have been a number of politically motivated trials during which innocent people have been sentenced to jail based on false accusations
infringement on the civil right to elect government and local self-governing bodies
the regime implemented a mass murder on March 1 by infringing the constitutional right of citizens to hold peaceful rallies and the perpetrators remain unpunished to date
assaults against journalists have turned structural and electronic media are still under the control of the regime
These facts are presented in detail in a number of local and international reports, including the annual reports released by the U.S. Department of State and the "Human Rights Watch" legal defense organization.
Unfortunately, instead of the facts, the Ombudsman's report includes philosophical statements and senseless, theoretical, social-political analyses that have nothing to do with the mission of the Ombudsman. The corroborations of the Ombudsman that the facts were touched upon in a special report are unacceptable. First of all, touching upon the facts in the past cannot serve as a basis for disfiguring the total image of human rights in Armenia in 2008. Secondly, the infringements and crimes that took place after the release of the special report have been overlooked. Contrary to the promises made public by the Ombudsman, there is no assessment of the political trials.
The facts relating to the repression of the authorities refers to the system of government and there is nothing mentioned about the accountability and political will of the authorities. With that said, the Ombudsman has taken the role of the attorney of Serzh Sargsyan's administration. The Ombudsman has turned into an institute serving the interests of the repressive political elite with the aim to imitate democratic processes in the form of an "objective" assessor.
The Armenian National Congress regrets to say that the Ombudsman is taking responsibility for the illegal actions perpetrated by the regime and is causing a blow to the mission and reputation of the Ombudsman institute in Armenia.
