Below we present the statement of the Deputy of the National Council of Slovakia, the first President of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Frantisek Mikloško, addressed to the President of the Council of Ministers and the Parliament of Slovakia.
Dear Mr. Richard Rush
Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic
Attention:
Monsignor Bernard Bober
(President of the Slovak Bishops' Conference)
Dear Mr. Chairman of the National Council of the Slovak Republic,
As a member of the National Council of the Slovak Republic, I am addressing you regarding the issue of respect for human rights and, in particular, religious freedom in the Republic of Armenia. The Republic of Armenia has repeatedly expressed its interest in joining the European Union and the Council of Europe. Thus, it is committed to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights (Regulation 209/1992). However, in practical politics, the current government of Armenia does not fulfill the obligations of the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the obligations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.
It has been more than four months since the archbishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church Bagrat Galstanyan, Mikayel Ajapakhyan, Arshak Khachatryan and bishop Mkrtich Proshyan are under pretrial detention in Armenia. The current Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, has found himself in political trouble in his country and is targeting high-ranking officials of the Armenian Apostolic Church. On December 17, thousands of security personnel in uniform and civilian clothes stormed the central church of St. Etchmiadzin of the Armenian Apostolic Church, when the Supreme Leader of the Church Garegin II was celebrating mass there. Thousands of believers immediately gathered in and around the church to defend their church leader.
Recently, similar provocations against the leader of the Armenian Apostolic Church and other high-ranking officials have not been rare in Armenia.
Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights guarantees the right to freedom and security, Article 9 - the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, Article 10 - the right to freedom of speech. Similar rights are also guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
On the one hand, the Armenian government expresses interest in joining the European Union, but on the other hand, it does not fulfill the obligations related to such membership.
Dear Mr. President, I suggest that you draw the attention of the Speaker of the RA Parliament to the above obligations and at the same time ask him to explain the reasons for the arrest of three archbishops of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the presence of Armenian security forces at the mass of Catholicos Karegin II on December 17 of this year.
Sincerely
Frantisek Mikloszko, member of the National Council
