Minister sacked
January 06, 2006
Times
Yerevan: President Kocharyan of Armenia dismissed Hovik Ovanisyan, his Culture Minister, after allegations that the minister had attacked two utility workers after a power failure at his home. The workers were treated for head wounds. (AP)
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Armenia Liberty
By Astghik Bedevian
Armenia’s controversial Culture Minister Hovik Hoveyan was forced to step down late Thursday over reports that he attacked and pistol-whipped electricity workers after a brief cut-off in power supplies to his apartment.
[...]
Hoveyan initially denied any involvement in the incident. He claimed to be lying in a hospital bed with a fever when contacted by phone on Wednesday. “They are lying,” he said of the allegations.
However, police sources said that in fact Hoveyan was being questioned at a police station in Yerevan while he spoke with an RFE/RL correspondent. Also questioned were the two utility workers who were allegedly injured by the minister and his son, the sources said. The police and ENA refused to identify them.
Speaking on Thursday, Hoveyan admitted that he went to the utility office the previous day but came up with a different version of the event. He claimed that power cuts in his apartment building in central Yerevan were “periodical and long-lasting” between December 31 and January 4 and that its residents repeatedly got “rude answers” to their inquiries. Hoveyan said a group of those residents, including his son, decided to visit the ENA station and he joined them later on.
[...]
The incident came as a huge embarrassment for Artur Baghdasarian, the ambitious speaker of Armenia’s parliament and the leader of Orinats Yerkir. The party’s governing board discussed it a two-hour emergency meeting on Thursday. Hoveyan announced his resignation immediately after the meeting. It was promtply accepted by President Robert Kocharian.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Times
Yerevan: President Kocharyan of Armenia dismissed Hovik Ovanisyan, his Culture Minister, after allegations that the minister had attacked two utility workers after a power failure at his home. The workers were treated for head wounds. (AP)
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
Armenian Culture Minister Quits After Reported Assault
5, January 2006 Armenia Liberty
By Astghik Bedevian
Armenia’s controversial Culture Minister Hovik Hoveyan was forced to step down late Thursday over reports that he attacked and pistol-whipped electricity workers after a brief cut-off in power supplies to his apartment.
[...]
Hoveyan initially denied any involvement in the incident. He claimed to be lying in a hospital bed with a fever when contacted by phone on Wednesday. “They are lying,” he said of the allegations.
However, police sources said that in fact Hoveyan was being questioned at a police station in Yerevan while he spoke with an RFE/RL correspondent. Also questioned were the two utility workers who were allegedly injured by the minister and his son, the sources said. The police and ENA refused to identify them.
Speaking on Thursday, Hoveyan admitted that he went to the utility office the previous day but came up with a different version of the event. He claimed that power cuts in his apartment building in central Yerevan were “periodical and long-lasting” between December 31 and January 4 and that its residents repeatedly got “rude answers” to their inquiries. Hoveyan said a group of those residents, including his son, decided to visit the ENA station and he joined them later on.
[...]
The incident came as a huge embarrassment for Artur Baghdasarian, the ambitious speaker of Armenia’s parliament and the leader of Orinats Yerkir. The party’s governing board discussed it a two-hour emergency meeting on Thursday. Hoveyan announced his resignation immediately after the meeting. It was promtply accepted by President Robert Kocharian.
[...]
Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.
posted by Vahe Balabanian at 11:18 PM
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