On December 20, 2007 the RA General Prosecutor’s Office instituted criminal
proceedings on Articles 135 (“Libel”) and 136 (“Insult”) of the RA Criminal
Code versus “Haikakan Zhamanak” daily. The case investigation is assumed by
the Police of the Center community of Yerevan. According to the RA General Prosecutor’s
Office, the criminal proceedings were instituted upon an appeal by the leader
of the National Democratic Union Vazgen Manukian. As it has been reported, the
statement that Vazgen Manukian released on December 19 said that on December
15, 2007 “Haikakan Zhamanak” had published an article “Mein Kampf – ‘My Struggle’
of Vazgen Manukian”. In the beginning of the publication the newspaper stated
that its quotes fragments from a manuscript titled “How to Do”, authored by
Vazgen Manukian and discovered on September 27, 1996 during the search at the
office of the National Democratic Union. According to “Haikakan” Zhamanak”,
the manuscript narrates a series of steps necessary to implement for Vazgen
Manukian to become the President of Armenia. Vazgen Manukian announced he was
not the author of this manuscript and explained his appeal to the Prosecutor’s
Office by “the urgency of the issue as well as the cynicism, with which the
newspaper attempted to insult, libel” him. “I would not have gone to the Prosecutor’s
Office, had the Editor of the newspaper taken my offer – to send the document
for an expert assessment jointly with my representative”, the statement of Vazgen
Manukian stressed (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, December
14-20, 2007).
With regard to the publication in “Haikakan Zhamanak” “Aravot” daily on December
27, 2007 quoted the interview of the Chief Editor of “Hayastani Hanrapetutiun”
daily Tigran Farmanian to the Armenian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
In particular, Tigran Farmanian said that the fragments of manuscript, allegedly
authored by Vazgen Manukian, were published in “02” newspaper on October 17
and 31, 1996. The newspaper was the print organ of the RA Ministry of Interior
and at that time was headed by Tigran Farmanian. In the lead to the first publication,
Tigran Farmanian noted, it was mentioned that the manuscript was found on the
table of Vazgen Manukian during the search, however, it was not maintained that
he was the author.
