Wednesday, September 9 2020 17:39

ArmInfo.It no longer raises doubts that the case of March 1, 2008 turned into a farce due to the second president of Armenia and his defenders. Chairman of the  Standing Committee on Defense and Security of the National Assembly  Andranik Kocharyan stated this in an interview with journalists.

The MP stressed that if Kocharyan wants to return to politics, he should  stop artificially dragging out the trial in the case. <Why is the  case dragging on? This is due to the fact that the measure of  restraint against Kocharyan is constantly being discussed and the  case never comes to trial, "the head of the Committee stressed. In  this sense, Kocharyan stated that the army now has not only external,  but internal enemies.

Kocharyan recalled the recent statement of the second president that  he did not know what he was accused of. <It turns out that Kocharyan  does not know about the secret order 0038, because of which the army  leadership was also charged? If Kocharyan really wants to return to  politics, then he should stop interfering with the court proceedings.  Otherwise, he needs to stop talking about return to politics, "said  the lawmaker.

To note, the March 1 case contains an order under the number 0038,  which is signed under the heading "top secret". According to the  prosecution, it was this order that provided for the participation of  the army in dispersing the demonstrators during the events of March  1, 2008. In turn, former defense minister Seyran Ohanyan stated that  order 0038 was no different, for example, from order 0037. He noted  that he did not exceed his official powers by signing the ill-fated  document, since he had the right to transfer military units to the  barracks position, and the basis for drawing up the order was the  Constitution of Armenia, according to which the protection of  important state institutions and facilities is entrusted to the Armed  Forces.

To remind, as a result of the opposition clashes that followed the  2008 presidential elections in Armenia, including with the army  units, 10 people were killed. The investigation into the case is  still ongoing. Within the framework of the case on charges of  overthrowing the constitutional order, the second president of  Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, and a number of high-ranking officials of  that time are involved.

To recall, the incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was an active  supporter of Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who in the presidential race with  Serzh Sargsyan de jure lost the elections, but was sure that their  results were fabricated. After the events of March 1, 2008, Pashinyan  was convicted for 7 years on charges of organizing mass riots, but  after serving 2 years, he was released. During the velvet revolution,  Pashinyan promised that all the authors of this massacre should face  justice and be punished.