The Incident Involving Vardan Harutyunyan Can Only be Characterized as a Terrorist Act - HAK

The incident involving Vardan Harutyunyan has been a pre-planned, meticulously executed operation, which can hardly be characterized in any other way than as a terrorist act. This is stated in a statement released by the Armenian National Congress (HAK).

“The violent incidents against activist Vardan Harutyunyan that have occurred over the past two weeks and have received significant public attention, the statements by Gegham Manukyan and other members of the Supreme Body of the DH (Armenian Revolutionary Federation), as well as certain speeches made during the rally organized by the DH on May 25 of this year, revealed the following extremely dangerous realities:

1. The incident involving Vardan Harutyunyan has been a pre-planned, meticulously executed operation, which can hardly be characterized in any other way than as a terrorist act.

2. DH leaders openly state that they are again adopting terrorism as a method of political struggle and are declaring self-justice against individuals who hold views different from their own or who advocate values not aligning with their beliefs.

Thus, one year after the April Revolution, there threatens to be a resurgence of the 20-year methodology of dictatorship in Armenia’s political life, which should serve as a serious alarm for the country's authorities, political forces, and the entire society. Regrettably, we must note that the lack of a proper response from law enforcement to the initial violence against Vardan Harutyunyan led to a recurrence of violence. We hope that now law enforcement bodies will exhibit the necessary consistency, fully elucidate the crime that has occurred, and hold accountable both the perpetrators and those who ordered the act.

Terrorism and violence must be excluded from all spheres of state and public life in Armenia. To prevent the further escalation of these phenomena, authorities must take urgent and decisive actions to eradicate them,” the statement concludes.