Text of report by Armenian news agency Snark on 4th May
Yerevan, 3rd May: Members of the former ruling party of Armenia, the Armenian Pan-National Movement [APNM], have blocked off the highway leading to the Prosecutor-General's Office and demanded the release of Vano Siradegyan, ex-interior minister and APNM leader. The latter returned to Yerevan today after several months abroad and was arrested by the law-enforcement agencies at the airport immediately on arriving on a Sofia-Yerevan flight. Blocking the road with cars near the main entrance to the Prosecutor-General's Office, the APNM members attempted to provoke the law-enforcement bodies into a conflict, but failed. The APNM members intend to picket the Prosecutor-General's Office until tomorrow morning at least. Meanwhile, a member of the APNM board and MP, Ovannes Igityan, repeated to journalists that by taking this step, the Prosecutor-General's Office had in fact cast doubt over the lawfulness of the forthcoming parliamentary elections to be held on 30th May. He said that Siradegyan, who was deprived of his deputy immunity this February, had regained his immunity status and, moreover, had doubled it by being registered as a candidate for deputy both under the first-past-the-post and proportional systems. Igityan said that the APNM intended to appeal to international observers in this connection. Igityan compared the current situation with the 1994 December events when, under President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, the activities of the Dashnaktsutyun Party were banned in Armenia in the run-up to the 1995 parliamentary elections. The APNM board intends to hold an urgent sitting to discuss the current situation. Asked whether APNM members had expected such a development of events and whether the Prosecutor-General's Office had substantiated its actions, Igityan answered: "No"
. A well-known lawyer, Ruben Rshtuni, has agreed to defend Siradegyan, but the ex-minister must himself agree to this. Rshtuni said the Prosecutor-General's Office had allowed him to meet Siradegyan, but the lawyer did not know the venue. "I do not know where it will be held, but they promised it within a few minutes," Rshtuni said, getting in his car and driving off. Some APNM members assume Siradegyan is in the Ministry of National Security headquarters. Former Minister of Internal Affairs Vano Siradegyan was deprived of his deputy immunity in February this year after the prosecutor's office had filed repeated petitions. He is being charged with organizing and attempted organization of several contract killings. Literally a few days before the petition, the ex-interior minister unexpectedly left Armenia and was put on the wanted list. Source: Snark news agency, Yerevan, in Russian 0515 gmt 04 May 99 BBC Mon TCU 040599 cal/ek <<
Text of report by Armenian news agency Snark on 4th May Yerevan, 3rd May: The situation concerning Vano Siradegyan, the Armenian ex-interior minister and leader of the former ruling party, the Armenian Pan-National Movement (APNM), who returned to Yerevan today after several months abroad and was detained on touchdown by the law-enforcement bodies at the airport, remains unclear. The APNM board in the person of MP Ovannes Igityan has said that "the arrest of Siradegyan, who is a candidate for deputy in the upcoming parliamentary elections on 30th May and who therefore has immunity, is illegal". In turn, Gurgen Ambaryan, the head of the press service of the Prosecutor-General's Office, said that the law-enforcement agencies were legally entitled to detain Siradegyan for 96 hours. Over this period, the Prosecutor-General's Office can appeal to the Central Electoral Commission [CEC] or a relevant regional electoral commission to deprive Siradegyan of his immunity as a candidate for MP. Moreover, Ambaryan pointed out, an investigation is under way in connection with the fact that the ex-interior minister is on the wanted list. At present, representatives of the Prosecutor-General's Office and APNM are conducting ongoing negotiations. Siradegyan's companions-in-arms are petitioning for their leader's release on bail. A relevant document has been signed by six Armenian deputies, instead of the specified two, who guaranteed that Siradegyan would not leave the country. Furthermore, funds are already being collected to obtain his release on bail, which costs 500,000 drams (1,000 dollars). Igityan said that Siradegyan was likely to be defended by the well-known lawyer Ruben Rshtuni. Commenting on the situation to journalists, Ovannes Igityan, a member of the APNM board and MP, said that he agreed with the prosecutor-general about one thing - "the forthcoming elections are in danger of being disrupted". Ex-Interior Minister Vano Siradegyan was deprived of his deputy immunity in February this year after the prosecutor-general filed a repeat petition. Siradegyan is being charged with organizing and attempts to organize a number of contract killings. Literally a few days before the second petition, the ex-interior minister unexpectedly left Armenia and was put on the wanted list. Source: Snark news agency, Yerevan, in Russian 0515 gmt 04 May 99
BBC Mon TCU 040599 cal/ek <<