OSCE and Armenian Authorities Struck a Deal: ANC

The report prepared by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on the March 1, 2008 events reflects and presents “a shameful picture” to the international community, said Armenian National Congress Coordinator Levon Zurabyan at a press conference today.

According to him, the report shows that unlawful verdicts were announced for those political prisoners who have already been released and for those who are still under detention. Zurabyan mentioned that the report’s only shortcoming was that it was released too late. Should it have been published earlier, it might have seriously affected the outcome of all the court proceedings related to the March 1 events.

Zurabyan is sure the reports were ready a few months before but for some political purposes they were not released.

“Our impression is that a deal has been made. The report was ready but it was not publicized till the end of the last court proceedings, particularly that of Nikol Pashinyan [former chief editor of the local Armenian daily Haykakan Zhamanak ("Armenian Times")],” said Zurabyan.

As for political reasons, according to Zurabyan, the international community expected the Armenian authorities to find a solution to the issues of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia-Turkey rapprochement.

“That is why the international community takes into account some of the demands made by this regime,” he explained.

What Zurabyan is not content with in this report is that despite “stating the outrageous reality, the OSCE does not give it a political evaluation.”

“But it does not matter. What is also important for us is the recording of facts, that which can become a weapon in our hands before the international community,” said Zurabyan.