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Rights Champion Says No Political Prisoners In Armenia

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  • Rights Champion Says No Political Prisoners In Armenia

    RIGHTS CHAMPION SAYS NO POLITICAL PRISONERS IN ARMENIA

    Ayots Ashkar, Yerevan
    3 Jun 04

    An interview with the director of the Human Rights Centre, Levon
    Nersisyan.

    (Levon Nersisyan) The point is that there is no classical
    definition of the term of political prisoner that may be applied
    in all cases. Moreover, more than once I took part in Ago Group
    (of the Council of Europe Cabinet of Ministers) meetings, and every
    time the question arises: who can be considered to be a political
    prisoner? Leaders of some of our organizations and me have quite
    contradictory views concerning this problem. They (the leaders) think
    that political prisoners are Jehovah's Witnesses who refuse to serve
    in the army and are called to justice.

    I do not agree with this view. Why? Because there is the law. It is
    quite a different problem that it could be good or bad. A group of
    human rights champions think, proceeding from international norms
    and moral, cultural and other kind of norms, that this or that law
    violates human rights. In this case, struggle to improve that law
    should be a priority in their activities. But in any case one should
    not break the law.

    (Passage omitted: Nersisyan on terms used by Amnesty International)

    On the whole, a person who is arrested for his or her political
    beliefs, the beliefs which did not lead to a violation of the law,
    should be considered to be a political prisoner. Though there is
    no classical definition of the term of political prisoner that is
    universally accepted.

    (Correspondent) Nevertheless, are there political prisoners in Armenia?

    (Nersisyan) No, I do not think there are. First, today no-one in
    Armenia has been sentenced under the "political article". There is no
    clause in the legislation of the country which makes one answerable
    for his or her political convictions.

    Second, I do not think there are really "political convictions"
    in Armenia. There are kinship, clan, corporate and other kind of
    convictions, but not political ones. To be convinced of this, it
    is enough to look at the "political field" of our country. Tell me
    please, according to what "political convictions" do our political
    forces differ from one another? What are their programmes? I am afraid
    that the only difference is that part of the forces are in power,
    and the second part want to find themselves there.

    It means that the fight is for satisfaction of their own interests.
    Unfortunately, here I do not see policy and "political convictions".

    And second, many political leaders are members of the nomenklatura
    which used to enjoy power and some material values stemming from it
    and which has now been deprived of this. That is, I would call them
    "protestants" whose protest stems from certain conditions. This could
    be personal hatred of somebody, but this is not policy.

    (Passage omitted: minor details)
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