YEREVAN. - If the section of Yerevan’s Sari Tagh district, where the protestors stood, was considered a dangerous zone, let the police have put a cordon there in advance.
Vice Chairman of Armenia’s Heritage Party Armen Martirosyan told Armenian News – NEWS.am, reacting to the accusation that the members of his political force directed the protestors to a dangerous section leading to the territory of the seized police station, which could have resulted in dozens of victims.
“In the same way, they could say that Khorenatsi street was a dangerous zone, since a direct road lead to the police station area from there. If the Sari Tagh section, where the demonstrators stood, was considered a dangerous zone, let them have put a cordon there in advance, the way it was done in Khorenatsi street and other places. The people would have understood that that was a dangerous territory and wouldn’t have approached it. The dangerous zone was lower, while the demonstrators were from it,” Martirosyan said.
In his words, the clashes were sparked by provocateurs recruited by the authorities.
Armen Martirosyan spent about three weeks in prison on charges of organizing mass unrest in Sari Tagh on July 29. He was released on bail on Wednesday. His fellow party members Davit Sanasaryan and Hovsep Khurshudyan are still under arrest on the same charges. Heritage Party issued a statement in connection with the arrest of Martirosyan, Sanasaryan and Khurshudyan, in which it refused to take part in the local municipal elections.
Asked whether this decision will be changed in connection with his release, Martirosyan said: “This decision was apparent, since I held all the negotiations on the elections. But I can’t yet say anything on what will happen in the future and whether the decision will be reviewed.”
Referring to the decision of Sasna Tsrer armed group to lay down the arms, the opposition figure noted that this was a correct decision. “I think that they did everything correctly. Obviously, the police shouldn’t be held responsible for the corruption and embezzlement committed by the government representatives. They were correct in not choosing bloodshed,” Martirosyan concluded.
