March 15, 2003 - 19:47 AMT
CALIFORNIAN SENATORS LETTERS IN SUPPORT OF DEMIRCHIAN PUBLISHED IN PRESS FALSIFICATION, ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY STATES
Press secretary of the Armenian foreign ministry Dzyunik Aghajanian called falsification the letters of Californian Governor Grey Davis and some Californian Senators supporting opposition candidate for Armenian president, People Party leader Stepan Demirchian published by some Armenian media lately. As reported by "Arminfo" agency, she said in a conversation with journalists that the Armenian foreign ministry had specially addressed consul of Armenia in Los Angeles Valery Mkrtumian a request to specify the availability of such letters. The initial response from Los Angeles proved that such letters did not really exist. However, March 12 copies of the aforementioned letters were published in the press. These were sent to the offices of the aforementioned Senators, from where a response to call the letters counterfeit was received. In the press secretary's words, officials of the rank are not used to mark or congratulate election participants in a country. She added that according to the data she possessed, they intended to bring a suit. One thing is clear - such falsification negatively tells on Armenia's international rating, the press secretary of the Armenian foreign ministry noted.