Beating unpunished in Armenia

"No one has been held accountable in a year after a police assault and beating of a peaceful demonstration in the Bagramian Avenue on the night of 13 April 2004," Vardan Mkrtchian, a member of the Justice faction at Armenia's National Assembly, told journalists.

He said no one had been held accountable for attacking the headquarters of some opposition parties either. Thus, he reminded a group of police officers commanded by the chief of the Centre community police, Mr Tamanian, had broken into the building of the People's Party (one of the leading opposition parties founded in 1998 by Karen Demirchian, the former first secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia - CK) where the Karen Demirchian museum is situated. The police officers had broken and illegally seized the property of the party office and museum. The member of parliament expressed perplexity concerning the prosecutor's office having taken no action.

"By failing to hold those guilty accountable, the government of Armenia has once again confirmed they had ordered and connived at those unlawful acts. Not only the executors should be called to account for all that, but also the high-ranking officials who have failed to hold the former accountable," said Vardan Mkrtchian. He added the coalition parties that had never condemned the developments in April last year also had responsibility.

More about Armenia:

• Human Rights Practices in Armenia - 2004