It is not a secret that the authorities will do their best to prevent the editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, Nikol Pashinyan, from being elected in the 10th precinct of Yerevan. Till yesterday everyone was expecting that the government would use the same methods such as ballot stuffing, intimidation on part of skinheads, terrors, etc. However, yesterday it turned out that the head of the passport and visa department of Ijevan city Department of the Police had refused to give a document certifying that Pashinyan had permanently lived in Armenia during the past five years. The mentioned department gave the following answer in the letter addressed to Pashinyan’s authorized representative David Matevosyan: “Nycol Pashinyan cannot be issued a document of permanent residency because of the fact that according to the 3/3-3671 letter if the criminal investigation board of Armenia, dated 03.11.2009, Nycol Pashinyan was searched in the period starting from February 26, 2008, till November 3, 2009, and did not live in the Republic of Armenia in the period when he was being searched.” This letter of explanation given by the police is not only nonsense, but shows that the national security is jeopardized. This letter actually wants to prove that this person, who is accused under the case of March 1, who organized mass disorders at the Myasnikyan monument on March 1 and provoked clashes, was not in Armenia since February 26. He was no in Armenia on June 7 of 2009 either, which is actually the day when he surrendered to the prosecutor’s office (these facts are proven as it has been taken on camera). Eventually, it turns out that the cells of the nationals security services are not in the territory of Armenia, where he was kept in the period of July 1-7 and aftermath as reported by the official information. In fact this nonsense shows that the authorities are afraid of something. In fact the authorities have come to the conclusion that they will not be able to prevent Pashinyan’s victory with electoral fraud and decided to lose the issue at once. Yesterday Pashinyan’s lawyers said that they were going to sue this decision to make the mentioned department of the police to issue a document certifying that Pashinyan has lived in Armenia during the past five years.
