Armenia: Ombudsman Clashes With President
By Zhanna Alexanian in Yerevan a reporter with www.Armenianow.com
(CRS No. 287, 18-May-05)
Only a year after her appointment, Armenia’s first human rights commissioner {Larisa Alaverdian} is in open confrontation with the authorities after delivering a series of stinging verdicts on legal abuses in the country.
[...]
Justice Minister David Harutunian, who testified in the constructional court on behalf of the president, argued that the ombudsman had effectively been given the right to undermine the independence of judges.
[...]
But Alaverdian denied she had ever interfered with the administration of justice or taken any sides, saying she had simply tried to safeguard citizens against arbitrary judgments.
[...]
Stepan Safarian, an analyst with the Armenian Centre for Strategic and Ethnic Studies, believes that the Armenian authorities had expected their ombudsman to be more obedient and were now trying to make her so. “Whether the law was good or bad is beside the point. What matters is that Armenia got an ombudsman, who proceeded to insist on certain freedoms,” he said.
[...]
The Armenian Centre for Strategic and National Studies conducted a poll in March which found that Alaverdian had gained popular support over the last year. A total of 22.6 per cent of the sample said they trusted the ombudsman the most as a human rights defender. By contrast the president, parliament, government and courts all received approval ratings of less than ten per cent.
[...]
Safarian said he was concerned that the government might be preparing evidence to discredit the ombudsman, so that this autumn, following constitutional reforms, Alaverdian can be replaced with a more compliant figure.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears on:
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/cau/cau_200505_287_2_eng.txt
Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...].The bold emphasis is mine.
(CRS No. 287, 18-May-05)
Only a year after her appointment, Armenia’s first human rights commissioner {Larisa Alaverdian} is in open confrontation with the authorities after delivering a series of stinging verdicts on legal abuses in the country.
[...]
Justice Minister David Harutunian, who testified in the constructional court on behalf of the president, argued that the ombudsman had effectively been given the right to undermine the independence of judges.
[...]
But Alaverdian denied she had ever interfered with the administration of justice or taken any sides, saying she had simply tried to safeguard citizens against arbitrary judgments.
[...]
Stepan Safarian, an analyst with the Armenian Centre for Strategic and Ethnic Studies, believes that the Armenian authorities had expected their ombudsman to be more obedient and were now trying to make her so. “Whether the law was good or bad is beside the point. What matters is that Armenia got an ombudsman, who proceeded to insist on certain freedoms,” he said.
[...]
The Armenian Centre for Strategic and National Studies conducted a poll in March which found that Alaverdian had gained popular support over the last year. A total of 22.6 per cent of the sample said they trusted the ombudsman the most as a human rights defender. By contrast the president, parliament, government and courts all received approval ratings of less than ten per cent.
[...]
Safarian said he was concerned that the government might be preparing evidence to discredit the ombudsman, so that this autumn, following constitutional reforms, Alaverdian can be replaced with a more compliant figure.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears on:
http://www.iwpr.net/index.pl?archive/cau/cau_200505_287_2_eng.txt
Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...].The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 8:35 AM
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