Armenia’s first president has taken his fight with the country's second president about the controversial 2008 election of Armenia's third president to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The court has agreed to review the complaint by Levon Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress against Ter-Petrosian’s successor, former President Robert Kocharian.
The multi-pronged suit, billed “Armenian Citizens versus Robert Kocharian,” mainly focuses on ANC accusations against Kocharian for his handling of the deadly March 2008 violence that followed the election of current President Serzh Sargsyan. The 4,500-page suit, which includes reams of testimonies, video and audio evidence, was sent to The Hague some three weeks ago.
It is unclear, however, whether the International Criminal Court will launch a trial about the case. Armenia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court; hence, critics say the complaint has little more than PR value. The ANC, though, seems to hope that the scale of the case would still warrant a full trial.
Giorgi Lomsadze is a journalist based in Tbilisi, and author of Tamada Tales.
Sign up for Eurasianet's free weekly newsletter. Support Eurasianet: Help keep our journalism open to all, and influenced by none.