On October 27, all oppositionists of Armenia visited the Pantheon of Armenia to pay tribute to former Chairman of the National Assembly of Armenia Karen Demirchyan, who was one of the victims of the atrocities at the parliament on October 27, 1999.
“It is clear what we think about the judicial process. The verdict didn’t reveal the people responsible for the crime; on the contrary, it made them more suspicious,” said Stepan Demirchyan, son of Karen Demirchyan. Stepan Demirchyan believes that the truth will be revealed sooner or later. Aram Sargsyan, head of the “Republic” party and brother of former prime minister Vazgen Sargsyan, is of the same opinion. “I have accused these authorities of two things. They had the power, the national security services, police and didn’t do anything to prevent the terror in the parliament. The second point is the worst; they did their best not to reveal the crime”, said Aram Sargsyan.
“The authorities are really guilty for the fact that it actually happened. I don’t think that there is any country where there are no resignations. The only official that resigned was Suren Abrahamyan. Suren Abrahamyan was not the person most responsible for revealing the crime; this was the job of the national security”, says NA deputy Shavarsh Kocharyan.
There were crowds of people at the “Erablur” as well. Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan, head of the Republican faction Galoust Sahakyan and many other people visited the cemetery of Vazgen Sargsyan to pay tribute. Robert Kocharyan didn’t visit “the Erablur” personally this time either, but he had sent flowers. The oppositionists visited the Erablur after visiting the pantheon. The crowd was accompanied by Aram Sargsyan, Stepan Demirchayn, Vazgen Manoukyan, Ararat Zurabyan and others. Aram Sargsyan said that unrevealed crimes prove how instable the country is. “However, I can’t compare the verdict of October 27 with other verdicts. Just after the terrorist act, people lost their trust in the government, the judicial system and justice for that matter” said Aram Sargsyan.
The leader of “National Renaissance” party, Albert Bazeyan said that the terrorist act took place due to the fact that the security services were not developed enough and were not doing what they were supposed to do since the crime had “already been planned out”. NA deputy Viktor Dallakyan said that he believed the case would be revealed in the future. Dallakyan thinks that the crime may be revealed only if Armenia has authorities elected by public vote during fair and free elections. Vazgen Sargsyan’s mother, Mrs. Greta, was doing her best not to look for guilty people, however she said that the authorities knew about it beforehand; the national security officers knew about it and didn’t do anything to prevent the crime. “Thieves cannot steal big things from home if they are not supported by a family member from inside. I don’t think they could pass inside through so many people without being noticed. I can’t say that it was organized by the authorities. We have never said such things. How did they enter the parliament with rifles? Even journalists could not enter the building without documents” said Mrs. Greta.