The police officers and red cap officials have been “stealing” the cars of the unified oppositionists and activists since November 23. The police were assigned to take the cars to the fee area and the red cap officials were to force people into the “Gazel” cars.
The only good thing is that whereas the police officers were keeping the cars at the police department, they would keep the people at the department until late at night and then release them after the meeting. Often the policemen beg them to accompany them to the restaurant saying “We will spend a good time there,” just so they will not take part in the meeting and not take residents of the Marzes to the meeting.
The “Yeraz” car which was taken from the “New Times” political party on November 24 at the state university has not been returned to this day. There were microphones in the car, which also haven’t been returned. On that day, one of the officials “gave his word” to leader of the party Aram Karapetyan, promising him to return the car if he came to the police department with him. However, Aram Karapetyan left empty-handed from the police department and the official did not fulfill his promise due to the fact that he had left with all the equipment. Until that, A. Karapetyan had been fined for the car and when he had gone to see the car he had found it empty. That car remains standing at the fine area and A. Karapetyan refuses to take it without the equipment. “They are giving me the car without the equipment. Let them put the equipment inside and then give it to me,” said Aram Karapetyan and added: “They should give it to me as it was.” The police officers, however, are not giving the equipment and demand Karapetyan to show some documents proving that the car is really his and not stolen. “They tell me to bring the documents and prove that it is mine,” says leader of the “New Times” political party. “Our political party bought that equipment five years ago and most of the documents are in the “Yeraz” car. But now there is neither any document nor even a bolt in the car. It is like the famous Armenian story about a camel that says “prove to them that you are a camel”. While A. Karapetyan proves that he is no camel, on November 28, the police officers also tried to take the “Opel” car belonging to the cameraman of the “New Times” party, who has taped all the meetings of the opposition.
The “06” brand name car belonging to the “Homeland and Honor” political party has been at the police department to this day and has microphones inside. On the same day, November 24, after the round-up in front of the presidential dome, four men took the car to the fine area and Hovik Tamamyan was the one that took the initiative. The police have also taken and not returned the “4×4” Niva brand name car (in front of the radio building) belonging to the leader of the territory branch of the “Republic” political party Ashot Poghosyan. As for A. Poghosyan, the officers beat him to the ground with their hands and feet and he was then transferred to the hospital in an unconscious state.
Before the November 29 opposition meeting, the police no longer waited for the cars to move or pass “under the red light” for them to arrest the party members. They were simply taking “Republic” political party’s cars right in front of the members to the fine area. The driver knew about that only after realizing that it was gone. On November 29, nearly twenty cars were taken to the fine area of the police department for different reasons. Many people found out that their cars were under investigation. “They tell someone that he has run over someone, the other has stolen the car and they just find a way to tell the rest that the reason is the meeting. But we know that whoever they find will end up in the police department,” said the representatives of the “Republic” political party. The “07” car belonging to “Republic” political party member Grigor Tadevosyan was also taken by the police to the fine area right in front of the “Republic” party members. When G. Tadevosyan tried to find out why they had taken his car, they told him: “Chief of Yerevan police Ishkhan Ishkhanyan’s orders”. They had promised G. Tadevosyan, as well as the other “victims” that they would return the cars right after the meeting, but yesterday they still hadn’t received their cars. “They promised to return our cars when everybody had left after the meeting, but we have nothing,” said the drivers. The police had also taken citizens’ cars parked in the area for the political party’s meeting. One of the members of “Republic” political party claimed that on November 29 at noon, the police had taken his friend’s car which had nothing to do with their meeting. “They had already taken my car and since my friend was passing by the meeting, I asked him to give me a ride. But when I got out of the car, the police officers stopped him and said that they had to take the car to the fine area because he had supposedly “cut off” Nerses Nazaryan’s car. But nothing like that had happened,” said one of the members oft the “Republic” political party. Last night, one party member called the police department and claimed that he has to buy one of the cars that are under their supervision due to the fact that he has agreed with the owner to pay the money and get the car. This was the answer given by the police: “If it is a car for the meeting, it has to stay until the meeting is over. As soon as the meeting is over, we will give the car.”
As for the “National Unity” political party, as stated by vice-president and National Assembly MP Alexan Karapetyan, their party members are used to this and the police take them or the cars to the police department and keep them in the fine area. The members don’t even follow up on what the reason is because they are certain that those cars will be returned some day. “They always round up the cars, take them and then return them. We are already used to this,” said Alexan Karapetyan.