Azat Arshakyan: This book should be sold in pharmacies
Human rights activist Vardan Harutyunyan today presented Armenian readers his book “Dissidence in the Soviet Armenia” which tells about Armenians convicted for their national-patriotic, political, social and dissident activities. In the book you can find information about Paruyr Hayrikyan, Azat Arshakyan, Razmik Markosyan, Shahen Harutyunyan and many other activists. Chairman of the Rights and Freedom Center NGO, Vardan Harutyunyan, says there are political prisoners in independent Armenia today. “There should be no political prisoners in a democratic country otherwise that country would collapse,” he said. The author confesses that in most cases he was with his friends and witnessed the events happening to them. “It was very difficult for me to stand aside and watch everything,” he said. One of the characters of the book is Soviet-era political prisoner Azat Arshakyan, who says Harutyunyan was to be a reader and not the author of the book. “We were the victims of injustice,” said Mr Arshakyan, who had been arrested several times. “Once I was sent to jail just for reading books. I was sent to Siberia for ten years,” he recalled. Mr Arshakyan says dissidents were often called offscourings during the Soviet period. Unfortunately, former political prisoners are not perceived unanimously by people. “This book should be sold in pharmacies and must be read by people who have psychological problems,” the former political prisoner said smiling.
