Pashinyan Must Provide a Political Assessment of Police Violence Against Protesters Opposing Amulsar Mining

We face a serious issue as the police, once again, like during the previous government, are trying to evaluate the legality of their own actions. Daniel Ioannisyan, president of the 'Informed Citizens Union' NGO, expressed this opinion in a conversation with Tert.am, referring to the police's statement regarding the violence used against citizens protesting the Amulsar mine near the National Assembly.

He emphasized that the police do not have the authority to evaluate their own actions. 'The legality of police actions should be assessed by the Special Investigative Service, the Prosecutor's Office, the courts, some other bodies, and partially by the Human Rights Defender, but not by the police themselves. This is where the problem arises,' he said.

Ioannisyan also finds it unacceptable that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan did not provide any assessment of the police's use of force either during live broadcasts or in statements following the police actions. He would very much like the Prime Minister to publicly address these incidents, giving them a political evaluation.

'I urge journalists to ask the Prime Minister, when appropriate, what his opinion is on these incidents, so that he responds publicly. As for allowing or not allowing demonstrations around the parliament, which was also disgraceful, I believe that the Speaker of Parliament should comment on this issue as well. I would be very disappointed if the Speaker of the National Assembly said that it is up to the parliament's security to decide or if it is security-related; that is not serious. The security service cannot decide where people can gather and where they cannot,' Ioannisyan continued.

When asked if there is a difference between Pashinyan's rhetoric before the revolution and now, Daniel Ioannisyan responded that the difference is evident. He first noted that the police were still ours, meaning they belonged to the citizens, since they are paid for by the taxpayers of Armenia. 'I remember that after the revolution, certain protesters were banging on the door of the Government building, and the Prime Minister said, it is their door, they can bang if they want. In this regard, the difference is evident. The difference is perhaps not only in the rhetoric of the Prime Minister himself but let’s take a global view, remembering that the police are an agency under the Prime Minister. Here, we indeed see a significant difference. The problem is that the police should act in the interests of the Armenians, and they should respect the Constitutional and Convention rights provided to Armenians for peaceful gatherings,' emphasized Daniel Ioannisyan.

Regarding the police's statement that they will continue to operate within the rule of law, Ioannisyan noted that protesters must remain entirely peaceful. 'Protesters should not behave as they did in Ijevan, as there were stones thrown at the police there, but let’s agree that protesters on Baghramyan Avenue did not behave that way; they behaved peacefully,' concluded Daniel Ioannisyan.