YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–Armenia’s Military Prosecutor Gagik Jhangirian still believes that the terrorist act of October 27–1999 was a pre-planned action that was guided by some high force or forces. However–the investigation has yet been unsuccessful in finding what forces were behind the crime. This was announced by Gagik Jhangirian himself in an interview to a small group of journalists on October 28.
Gagik Jhangirian is the head of the preliminary investigation body looking into the October 27 case. He said the investigation could not be considered complete although the part concerning the immediate perpetrators of the crime would soon be sent to court. The part concerning the masterminds of the crime has been separated from the main case and it is now subject to a separate inquest.
Jhangirian emphasized that before and after the investigation–the group had also worked on the version under which the crime had been guided by some external forces. According to Jhangirian–the latest statemen’s by Secretary of the Socialist Forces & Intellectuals Ashot Manucharian are of interest to the investigation group as far as they–for the first time–claim evidence pointing at a tie-in between the October 27 events and the so-called Goble Plan.
Manucharian refused to give testimony to the investigation group–asserting that he did not trust them. Jhangirian thinks Manoucharian might as well publish the evidence he claims to possess through mass media.
Commenting on the statement by ex-prime minister Aram Sargssian in which he said that he did not trust Jhangirian–the Military Prosecutor said that the relatives of those killed in the attack have always had the option of presenting a petition for the investigation to be conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office rather than by the Military Prosecutor’s. Jhangirian said he had made several proposals on that account–but each time the relatives of the assassinated statesmen did not support the idea.
During the investigation of the October 27 case–the investigation group also interrogated President Robert Kocharian and Minister of Defense Serge Sargssian announced Jhangirian–denying that the activities of the investigation group might be in any way contingent on the current political developmen’s in the country.
