President of the Union of Communities of Armenia Emin Yeritsyan has issued the following statement:
“The events unfolding in Kajaran and Kapan are very troubling.
What sparks concern is the alleged relationship of legal procedures with the political processes and the interpretation according to which the legal procedures are politically motivated.
There are not only statements on social networks and by demonstrators, but also a special statement by the head of Kajaran town Manvel Paramazyan, who viewed the events as political persecution.
Such a statement by an elected official is itself a fact that needs to be investigated. These are extraordinary evaluations for local democracy and local self-government bodies in Armenia and the Union of Communities of Armenia, and what is also extraordinary is how the head of the town and the local demonstrators make statements about political persecution.
As a supporter of local democracy in Armenia and the high reputation of the Republic of Armenia, I expect the political and law-enforcement authorities of Armenia to make the investigation as transparent as possible and rule out any overt or concealed act of political repression on the head of the town. I also call on the demonstrators of Kajaran to show restraint.”
As reported earlier, the situation in Kapan is tense. Several residents of Kajaran town have gathered in front of the police building with the demand to release their fellow citizens who were apprehended and later detained and not to transport them to Yerevan. According to the information of the relatives gathered in front of the building, the apprehended were beaten at the police station, but the police refute news about use of violence. There are three detainees, and another person by the name of Nver Khachatryan was apprehended by mistake and released. There are bruises on his body. The gathered demand that the arrestees aren’t transported to Yerevan and that the investigation is conducted in Syunik Province since they fear that the arrestees will be beaten more brutally in Yerevan. They threaten to close down roads. Head of Kajaran town Manvel Paramazyan has declared that this is political repression against him, adding that a few days ago police officers conducted searches in his apartment and his close ones’ apartments, after which residents of Kajaran were detained for no reason and through the use of violence.
