«The Government Demanded from Me»: Tatoyan's Scandalous Statement

The former Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, revealed during an interview with 168.am the demands placed on him by the Government during his tenure at the Ombudsman's office. He stated, "While working as the Human Rights Defender, I was directly demanded at a high level by the Government not to criticize Azerbaijani signage and the presence of Azerbaijani soldiers, stating that it has nothing to do with human rights. Another reason given was that criticizing these signs causes dissatisfaction among the public, which creates political difficulties for the Armenian authorities. I even asked whether this is a punishment for the Ombudsman, and the answer was yes, with the sanction being the initiative to take away 90 percent of our work vehicles."

Tatoyan also discussed the border situation and the policies of the current authorities: "Members of the ruling faction in the National Assembly, without taking turns, were going to Syunik, going live, and declaring that it is very safe there. At that time, the deputy prime minister, who is now the Minister of Defense (Surena Papikyan), stated that these are the positions of the Azerbaijani armed forces, and we can do nothing about it. Today, members of the ruling faction in the NA (particularly Vahagn Aleksanyan) say that the Goris-Kapan highway is Azerbaijani territory, not Armenian territory. This is a statement that violates the security of Armenia and is absolute ignorance."