Armavir Governor Vahram Khachatryan has responded to allegations published by Daniel Ioannisyan, chairman of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, denying claims that he exerted pressure on Razmik Ayvazyan.
Ioannisyan had written that, according to a report his organization received, the Armavir governor had urged Razmik Ayvazyan, a member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), to think about his newly conscripted son while attempting to “persuade” him not to run for mayor of Armavir.
“I officially declare that not only have I never said anything of the sort to Razmik Ayvazyan, but I have never, not even once in my life, met this man. I will sue Daniel Ioannisyan for this outrageous defamation,” the governor wrote on Facebook.
Ioannisyan responded in his own Facebook post, insisting that “every word, every letter” of what he had said was true and that he would have no difficulty proving he had received the report exactly as described.
“The Armavir governor is suing me because I said that, according to a report we received, the Armavir governor had urged Razmik Ayvazyan, a member of Dashnaktsutyun, to think about his newly conscripted son while attempting to ‘persuade’ him not to run for mayor of Armavir.
“That report exists, and I presented it accurately. The person who reported it to me exists and has even agreed to be identified as my source. Moreover, part of the report was made public during the September 15 session of the National Assembly.
“Every word, every letter of what I said is true, and I have no difficulty proving that I did indeed receive the report in precisely that form.
“As for the Armavir governor, he can also dispute the fact that the sky is blue or Newton’s laws. That is his right. But he should prepare to reimburse my lawyer’s expenses, which will not be a small amount.
“P.S. At the same time, I sincerely congratulate the governor on the fact that Armavir is the only provincial capital where Civil Contract will be contesting the elections without any opponents. The other provinces ‘failed’ to create Azerbaijani-North Korean-style conditions,” he wrote.
Earlier, Daniel Ioannisyan, chairman of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO, had stated that opposition political parties’ failure to nominate candidates in local government elections could be the result of pressure exerted on them. According to him, “there is no other way to explain Civil Contract’s uncontested participation in numerous communities, in North Korean style.”
