YEREVAN, DECEMBER 12, NOYAN TAPAN. "In Armenia, human rights violations have a mass and regular character," the former ombudsperson of Armenia, member of the National Assembly "Heritage" action Larisa Alaverdian stated at the December 10 press conference. In her words, in a normal country, the state protects the rights of its citizens, whereas in Armenia, it is the state that violates the fundamental human rights - partly through its connivance, partly by unnlawful actions. L. Aleverdian noted that the unalwful actions of the state reached their culmination during the March 1 events. Besides, according to her, the authorities are trying to hinder the work of the Ombudsman, thus opposing the protection of human rights. As regards the statement of the former Armenian president Robert Kocharian to the effect that the RA Ombudsman Armen Harutyunian is the most unsuccessful employee appointed by him, L. Alaverdian said that such a statement about an ombudsman has been unprecedented in international practice. "There is no country where the authorities reproach the ombudsman in such an unfounded way," she underlined. Speaking about women's rights, she said that the field of opportunities for men and women is not equal in Armenia today. She condemned the fact that jobs are not given intentionally even to women with higher education. "On the one hand the Armenian society gives geniuses, on the other hand it has some manifestations of backwardness," she said. In her opinion, to prevent a woman from making herself a career is a treacherous phenomenon.

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