The next Armenian Ombudsman will certainly be an official - the authorities will not make a mistake for the second time, says the chairman of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia Avetik Ishkhanyan.

When appointing Larisa Alaverdyan as Ombudsman President Robert Kocharyan expected her to be his obedient servant. But she turned out to be unexpectedly and uncontrollably active in protecting human rights and protesting against tough treatment of detainees. The final drop was Alaverdyan's report on the human rights situation in Armenia, which much displeased the authorities, who reacted by, first, framing up a bribery case against Alaverdyan's employee, then seizing the office computer with working files and finally abolishing the Ombudsman Institution at all.

Criticizing the opposition for its strange passivity in the case, Ishkhanyan says that he will be against any candidate by a political party. He personally will not agree to be Ombudsman just to see his name appearing in the press for some time.

Asked if Ombudsman must be a lawyer, Ishkhanyan says: "Stalin's public prosecutor - the butcher Vyshinsky was a lawyer, while the world renowned human rights activist Andrey Sakharov not."