A United States human rights group has sent a twelve-page open letter of protest dated 
January 15, 1999 to Armenian President Robert Kocharian.  It lists human rights 
violations currently going on in the Republic of Armenia.  Fifteen copies of this open 
letter included three selected Armenian officials: two United Nations representatives, five 
Council of Europe representatives, an ambassador of the OSCE (Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe), and four foreign ambassadors in Yerevan.  
Regarding these abuses, the letter accuses the Armenian government of ignoring or not 
going beyond the point of public denial. 


No doubt, these charges may have been blown way out of proportion or, at worst, some 
may be partially true.  And such being the case, and since Armenia is trying to represent 
itself as a democratic republic (a nation ruled by law), she must either prove these 
allegations false and, if true, she must exert every effort to make the perpetrators 
accountable.   According to the letter, disciplinary beatings and torture have taken the 
lives of 200 or more military conscripts during the years 1996, 1997, and 1998.


The report also cites the widespread systemized thefts by officers of personal items 
belonging to new conscripts.  It has even accused the government of holding families of 
new conscripts hostage in cases where such conscripts fail to report for military service.


Continuing on, the report also cites physical abuse in pretrial detention centers under the 
authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and National Defense.  These abuses also 
include children.  The report further states that, to date, there has been no attempt by 
Armenia’s government to prosecute any of those who have been responsible for these 
abuses.


The report also goes on to cite abuses regarding freedom of religion, detention and 
harassment of journalists and independent news media and the failure to investigate and 
to prosecute the violent incidents and ballot tampering that took place during the March 
presidential election.


Without a doubt, many of these charges may be proven false or if there is some truth in 
them, they may even fall short of the present-day improprieties that presently exist in our 
Western democracies.  Be that as it may, the Republic of Armenia still has to extend 
every effort to properly address these allegations.  And if any of it is true, the perpetrators 
must be prosecuted, convicted, and punished.  The last thing Armenia needs after all the 
blood her people have sacrificed over the centuries is to be classified as a ‘rogue’ nation.   
Inasmuch as we condemn Turkey for the injustices they’ve inflicted on our people, 
Armenia must be ever more vigilant of the injustices, if any, that we inflict on ourselves.


It would also be interesting to know the track record of this human rights group--how 
long they’ve been in business as well as a record of their past reports on other nations 
such as Turkey and Azerbajian.


But regardless of who they are, the world must be convinced, beyond any shadow of a 
doubt, that our Republic of Armenia is a real democracy and that the laws governing it 
are equally enforced for the benefit of both the disadvantaged, as well as the advantaged.


A good reputation as well as a good democracy is very hard to build and very easy to 
destroy.  Being a newly emancipated nation, our little Republic of Armenia will be under 
microscopic scrutiny for many years to come.  It, no doubt, makes their job even tougher.  
But, then again, whoever said it was going to be easy. 


Joseph Vosbikian