Sputnik․ Robert Kocharian is curious about what would have happened to him if he had declared in 2021 that he had won the elections and was going to the government.
The second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, still does not understand what he is being accused of. He stated this during the court session of the "March 1" case, adding that he has not had an answer to this question since 2018.
According to him, neither the investigators nor the prosecutors have been able to clarify which action he exceeded his authority.
Kocharian reiterated that the criminal case initiated against him is a political order from the current government.
"This order was previously sent via SMS, now they say it publicly, and this is not political speech, but it is clearly stated that I must go to prison (referring to the statements of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. Ed.)", he said.
Referring to the actual accusation, he recalled that after the presidential elections of 2008, when presidential candidate Levon Ter-Petrosyan announced that he did not accept the election results and was preparing to move towards the presidential residence, the situation required an immediate response from the president.
"The first thing was to meet with high-ranking military officials. The elections had ended, the decision of the CEC had been made, the force that took second place, the candidate who received 21.5 percent, announced that he did not accept the results, that he had won and should go to the presidency. This is a public statement. I can imagine that if I had declared in 2021 that I had won and we were going to the government, what would have happened to me," he said.
Kocharian noted that during those days, active military personnel had also gathered in the building of the Union of Volunteers of Armenia, and the issue of joining the protesters was being discussed.
"More than half of the board of the Union of Volunteers were active military personnel, and these military personnel were at the Union of Volunteers all day with their drivers and deputies. In other words, part of the military leadership was at the Union of Volunteers and was making decisions about joining. What should the president of the country have done, someone explain it again. Let the prosecutor explain to me what the president of the country should have done when I was being informed that an armed group was in discussions. Should I have met with the military or not? If I hadn't met, I would be judged today for inaction," Kocharian declared.
According to the second president of Armenia, he told the military that if they were engaged in politics, they should leave the system, and according to him, there are numerous testimonies about this.
"I said, if you are engaged in politics, write a letter of resignation or get out of there. There are 20-30 testimonies, and they all said the same thing. Now I am being accused of fulfilling my duties. I spoke harshly with the chief of staff, asking, 'What are you allowing?' Well, should cynicism have a limit or not?" Kocharian said.
Referring to the decision to declare a state of emergency, the second president emphasized that he signed it after the police chief reported that the forces were insufficient.
It should be noted that on March 1, 2008, the then President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, signed a decree declaring a state of emergency. This decree imposed a state of emergency in Yerevan for 20 days, during which several rights of citizens were restricted, including the freedom of assembly and the activities of mass media (only official news was allowed to be published).
"When I signed the decree on the state of emergency, the police chief said that the forces were insufficient. By that time, there had already been 40-45 burned cars, and several dozen soldiers had sustained shrapnel injuries. There is no process of transferring power, the Constitution does not provide for that, and I am simply amazed at the ignorance of the accusation that has been written," Kocharian emphasized.
He addressed Judge Sargis Petrosyan.
"As a judge, as a representative of the judicial system, are you not offended by that statement that I must go to prison, or that half of the judges are corrupt? This is not only a violation of my presumption of innocence but also a violation of your presumption of honesty as judges," Kocharian said, referring to the statements of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Let us recall that the case relates to the tragic events of March 1, 2008. The second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharian, former Deputy Prime Minister Armen Gevorgyan, former Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan, and former Chief of Staff Yuri Khachaturov were initially charged under Article 300.1 of the RA Criminal Code ("Overthrowing the constitutional order"). In 2021, the Constitutional Court deemed this article unconstitutional, and the case was closed. However, in 2023, the case was reopened from scratch by introducing a new article in the newly adopted Criminal Code to bring new charges.
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
ENGLISH
