Pastinfo website published an interview with former head of Armenian National Assembly’s staff Ara Saghatelyan to discuss the criminal against former deputy speaker Ara Babloyan and ex-deputy head of National Assembly’s staff Arsen Babayan.

Mr Saghatelyan, the public is already aware of the circumstances of the case, within which your former deputy in the Staff of the National Assembly Arsen Babayan is sought by the prosecutors to be arrested, and ex-Speaker of the National Assembly Ara Babloyan has been named a suspect. How would you comment on these developments?

First of all I have to say that both Ara Babloyan and Arsen Babayan are honest and decent individuals and involving them in this artificial case must have required very serious problems with reasonableness. Regarding the case in question, obviously I am attentively following the developments and judging by the publicly available information, I believe we are witnessing some unreasonable, disproportionate and unlawful series of actions which are accompanied by grave violations of rights. This is a futureless case, which would collapse in any court of law in the world, provided, of course, that the court didn’t implement a very rigid political order.

Why are you so sure?

I am not a lawyer, but these days I have been consulting with professionals, including non-lawyers. I can say that this case is dictated by political expediency and political order, it’s a groundless and futureless case, which already is shattering the perceptions out there around our country, our international reputation, meanwhile leading our society and the state to a dangerous end. Everyone by now understands that those who gave orders had a clear demand, and, it seems, to some it doesn’t make any difference how it’s going to be executed. No goal can be justified, if you are solving your issues by dishonest means and by gravely violating others’ rights. In this perspective the incumbent authorities by their own behaviour are forming a culture and precedents which are going to affect everyone’s future and are not going to lead Armenia or the Armenians anywhere much pleasant. The political motives and the employed toolset for the arrest of Arsen Babayan are simplistic and clear to understand, but those methods are abnormal and unacceptable. Therefore let me use your platform and address a call to our law enforcement officers: gentlemen, act by the law and with conscience, it’s not the time “to lackey” new shoulder straps, we may lose our homeland.

In any case, is it clear to you what exactly Arsen Babayan or Ara Babloyan are being accused of? And are you going to support them?

Let me reiterate, that this case is just hot air and the charge put forward can even be easily denied by an unsophisticated journalistic investigation.

Concerning my own plans, I will do everything possible to support my friends and colleagues in defending their rights, as well as for justice and sense of reason to prevail. And not only in their case. Our society is yet again pushed to make a choice in a dilemma: value system, or situational interests of the government. It’s a matter of fact that in Armenia we have a contradiction between the values and interests of the government and the society, in effect we have double standards, as well as unreasonable, disproportionate and unlawful actions. It’s sad that at this point, all the illegalities and violations of human rights, are all carried out under the banner of “popular will” and indifference and silence among traditional human rights advocates and foreign partners.

I believe that we are getting closer to a point where our homeland and Armenians worldwide need to be held back off dangerous developments, since the distortion of the idea of modernization and the widespread application of “the end justifies the means” approach by the authorities may in the next few months result in a situation which is normally called “point of no return”. We will thus appear in vicious circle when our national interests will be difficult to be served – starting from daily social and community needs and all the way to national security.