“Human Rights Watch is objective”
Armenian advocates believe Human Rights Watch has given an objective evaluation of the current state in all spheres of Armenia in its annual report.
They especially attach importance to the evaluation of Armenia's international partners. "Armenia's international partners have not used their potential to speed up democratic development in Armenia," advocate Vardan Harutyunyan told "A1+".
Harutyunyan doesn't believe the Armenian authorities will take the Human Rights Watch report into account.
Stressing that Human Rights Watch is the world's most reputable law defense organizations, Avetik Ishkhanyan said: "Human Rights Watch never pursues political goals and always prepares objective reports. Nobody can dispute the questions raised by Human Rights Watch, including the 10 murders of 1-2 March 2008, the prohibition of rallies in certain cases and people's torture at police divisions. If anybody doubts this organization's objectivity, he or she can open the reports on other countries and compare them."
Mr. Ishkhanyan also recalled that Human Rights Watch was the organization that released a report on the events of March 1 immediately after they took place.
Advocate Artur Sakunts is also content with the Human Rights Watch report, but believes the organization could have given a stricter evaluation of the tragic cases taking place in the army.
According to Sakunts, the Armenian authorities take neither the Human Rights Watch reports nor the reports by other law defense organizations into account. "If the Armenian authorities took them into account, there wouldn't be political prisoners, the murders of the 10 victims would be revealed, "A1+" television would be on air and there would be rallies at Freedom Square."
Sakunts is certain that the international organizations the members of which are Armenia, the UN, the CE or the EU will take the Human Rights Watch report on Armenia into account.
