Armenia: ORO says supporter's arrest an election provocationMarch 22, 2017 - 23:19 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The arrest of opposition activist Samvel Babayan has obvious political overtones and is directed against the free expression of will of our citizens ahead of parliamentary elections, the Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanian (ORO) bloc said in a statement on Wednesday, March 22. Babayan who served as former minister of defence of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), the army commander of Liberation Army, was arrested with two others for smuggling Igla anti-aircraft missile system parts from Georgia, the Armenian national security service said. "The move was being prepared with the help of some public figures, as well as through various pro-government media outlets," the bloc said. "We call upon the international community, observers and diplomatic missions to keep this case in the center of attention as it obviously has political overtones and is directed against the free expression of our citizens' will." "We call on the political parties, human rights organizations, civil society and our compatriots of Artsakh and the Diaspora to make an adequate assessment of what happened," the statement went on to say. Babayan is an active supporter, but not a member of Ohanyan-Raffi-Oskanyanopposition bloc, which is led by Armenia's former defense minister Seyran Ohanyan and two former foreign ministers - Raffi Hovannisyan and Vardan Oskanyan. Top stories The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Yerevan City Council has elected Tigran Avniyan from the ruling Civil Contract as the mayor of the Armenian capital. The Armenian Parliament on Tuesday, October 3 voted to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Partner news | Russia provides info about arrested Armenian ex-MP Russian law enforcement agencies have provided information about the arrest of Tigran Urikhanyan. Lemkin Institue slams Pashinyan's “cryptic engagement with Genocide denial” The Lemkin Institute is alarmed over Pashinyan’s statements “questioning Armenia's legal basis to pursue justice against Turkey”. 41 detained as antigovernment protests continue in Yerevan 41 people were detained in Yerevan as people demanding Pashinian’s resignation stage campaigns of civil disobedience. Greek-Armenian organizations support "Tavush for Motherland" Greek-Armenian organizations have expressed support for the campaign led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan. |