Explosion at Newspaper Office
A1 Plus reports that an explosion has destroyed the front door of the offices of Chorrord Ishkhanutyun, a newspaper supportive of the former president, Levon Ter Petrosian. The newspaper is very outspoken in its criticism of the government and the president almost to the extent that it can hardly be called a newspaper, but anyway.
Today early in the morning the entrance door of “Chorrord Ishkhanutyun” editorial office was exploded. The director of the newspaper Mher Ghalechyan informed “A1+” that the incident took place at about 4.30 in the morning. According to him, explosives were installed on the door. The iron bars of the door were completely damaged, the windows and chandeliers were broken. Fortunately, the equipments were not damaged. At this moment the employees of the newspaper are cleaning up the rooms. Police employees are at the place of the incident. They have started a criminal case after the investigation and examination of the place.
The explosion is probably election-related although it will be interesting to assess the reaction of opposition groups and civil society activists. In April, for example, explosions also tore through two offices of the pro-governmental Prosperous Armenia party. However, many opposition and civil society activists privately believed the party itself was responsible for the blasts. They almost certainly won’t be saying the same with this incident.
In related news, the controversial opposition party leader, Artashes Geghamian, accused Levon Ter Petrosian of warning that “blood will be shed” in the coming presidential election. Often believed to secretly cooperate with the authorities, the presidential candidate is reported by A1 Plus to have used his press conference with journalists to attack Ter Petrosian.
According to Geghamyan’s predications, on 19 February corresponding people will incite disorder in 400-500 electoral districts, so that the international structure will interfere in the process. “This is prepared and they perpetrators are already ready. I pity, that the nation, particularly, decent people do not realize that we have the 5-th column in Armenia, in the face of former authorities.”
Geghamian, however, is not considered to be a political force of any note in Armenia since the 2003 presidential election and abortive attempt at “regime change” in April 2004. Geghamian fell out with his former radical opposition colleagues in January 2007 in the run up to the May parliamentary election.
Back to the newspaper office blast and The Armenian Observer has posted more details along with a video from E-Channel. Shogher Matevosyan, Chorrord Ishkhanutyun’s editor and part of the Shamiram Women’s Movement linked to Ter Petrosian’s notorious former Minister of the Interior, Vano Siradeghian, alleges that either the head of the Erebuni district of Yerevan or the prime minister’s driver were responsible for the blast.
Banditocracy at work. This is a classic method for SS-RK duo to suppress their critics. Didn’t they burn down the editorial office of Chorrord Ishkhanutyun last year as well?
I also don’t know how one of their journalist is faring. If I remember quickly, that journalist was going to be jailed after he was attacked by some thugs and reported the crime to the police.
Comment by nazarian — December 13, 2007 @ 8:12 pm
Unzipped also has an extensive post on this story in the context of overall concerns with the situation of the opposition media in Armenia.
The full post is here.
Comment by Onnik — December 14, 2007 @ 1:18 pm