Month: February 2015

The Cup Runneth Over: A New Era of Oligarchic Competition

By Serouj Aprahamian on February 14, 2015

Special for the Armenian Weekly

Civic activist Artak Khachatryan was kidnapped by three masked men in
front of a shopping center in Yerevan, on Sat., Feb. 7. He was found
hours later beaten unconscious on the side of a street near his home.

Prosperous Armenia member Artak Khachatryan lies in a hospital bed
after being abducted and beaten by unknown assailants.

Khachatryan has played a leading role in protests against the
government’s controversialTurnover Tax Law affecting small and medium
sized businesses. He is also a prominent member of the Prosperous
Armenia Party (PAP), the second largest political party in Armenia’s
parliament, headed by well-known oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan.

The beating immediately prompted harsh condemnation from the PAP. The
party’s political council placed responsibility for the crime on the
ruling regime, and threatened to take to the streets and boycott
parliament should the perpetrators go unpunished.

What followed was a series of warnings from the government and
responses from Tsarukyan’s team, culminating in an aggressive speech
by President Serge Sarkisian five days later. The speech has been
characterized as a virtual declaration of war against Tsarukyan, with
Sarkisian hurling personal insults and promising to crackdown on the
opposition tycoon.

In turn, Tsarukian responded the next day calling for snap elections
and the organization of rallies, marches, protests and civil
disobedience aimed at removing the president from office.

This unexpected flurry of events has blown open a dramatic rift in the
upper echelons of Armenia’s oligarchic establishment.

Up until 2012, Tsarukyan’s party was a member of the governing
coalition and considered to be close to the president. Whatever
differences existed between the two were considered to be mostly
cosmetic. Many even felt that PAP’s leaving the coalition was a ploy
to divide the opposition, rather than an actual challenge to the
regime. As is often pointed out, the two sides even share family ties,
with one of Tsarukyan’s daughters being married to Prime Minister
Hovik Abrahamyan’s son.

So what happened to replace the oligarchic unity of the past with the
clearly deep fissures of today? Was the beating of a civic activist
enough to spark a war of words that has spilled over into open
confrontation?

Making sense of these developments requires us first to recognize
that, for businessmen of Tsarukyan’s stature, the state represents a
major threat to their wealth. Unlike oligarchs in developed countries,
the elite in Armenia do not have a stable and functioning legal system
to defend their fortunes.

Making sense of these developments requires us first to recognize
that, for businessmen of Tsarukyan’s stature, the state represents a
major threat to their wealth. Unlike oligarchs in developed countries,
the elite in Armenia do not have a stable and functioning legal system
to defend their fortunes. They must constantly find alternative ways
to maintain their privilege. This explains why so many feel the need
to directly hold political office, control media outlets, and assemble
their own private armies.

Having often gained their riches through dubious means themselves,
they are at all times susceptible to state reprisal should they raise
their head. Those who have dared challenge government policy in the
past, no matter what their status or wealth in society, have been
quickly retaliated against.

For example, during the 2008 presidential elections, opposition
candidate and former president Levon Ter-Petrosian openly tried to
court oligarchs such as Tsarukyan to his side, warning that they face
the constant risk of losing their fortunes under the current regime.
Indeed, tycoons such as Khachatur Sukiasyan who supported
Ter-Petrosyan were driven out of the country, having many of their
assets seized and handed over to pro-government businessmen. This
gloves-off response did not go unnoticed by the likes of Tsarukyan.

Even before that, the central concern of the super-rich in Armenia has
always been protecting themselves against threats to their wealth and
property. A 2003 study by the Armenia 2020 project, based on
interviews with13 leading oligarchs, concluded that “the state, its
machinery and institutions are perceived by the oligarchs as a
dangerous force, able at any moment to cause serious damage to their
business.”

Former coalition partners, oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan and President
Serge Sarkisian, have gone from allies to adversaries over recent
weeks.

Tsarukyan and his party have made clear that their main concern is
changing this economic environment in the country. They have rallied
against higher taxes, seizure of companies through state power, rising
national debt, unfavorable investment conditions, and crisis in the
financial market. An often repeated phrase from Tsarukyan and other
PAP members is that the “people’s patience has run out,” that their
“cup has runneth over,” and that is why he has entered the political
arena.

Developments over the past week have proven that the oligarchic class
is not a homogenous entity many once made it out to be. The tacit
ruling arrangements of the past have broken down. There are clearly
divergent interests at play, and opposing groupings taking shape.
Given the immense resources at his disposal, the challenge posed by
Tsarukyan to the Sarkisian regime is certainly a serious one.

Also backing Tsarukyan is the 2nd president of the country Robert
Kocharian who has been releasing specially tailored interviews on his
website, 2rd.am, criticizing Sarkisian’s reign–especially his economic
policies–and calling for radical change. In his latest interview on
Jan. 23, he stated that the biggest obstacle to progress in the
country is “the conflict between the political elite’s economic
interests and the long-term interests of the nation.”

These adversarial shifts among Armenia’s oligarchic class represent a
serious new struggle for power within the country–one that is
motivated first and foremost by defending wealth and privilege.

These adversarial shifts among Armenia’s oligarchic class represent a
serious new struggle for power within the country–one that is
motivated first and foremost by defending wealth and privilege.
Contrary to rhetoric from both sides about democracy and the common
good, what we are seeing is the polarization of the ruling elite in
terms of those connected to the state apparatus and those threatened
by or opposed to it.

It is yet to be seen what will result from this increased friction in
the upper echelons of power. What we can be sure of is that there is a
new era of oligarchic competition taking shape that is likely to have
very significant ramifications for the future of the country’s
development.

Gyumri slaughter: Official silence a month later

18:58 | February 14,2015 | Social

I cannot imagine how the Investigation Committee of the Republic of
Armenia is going to investigate the murder of the seven-member
Avetisyan family in Gyumri if the main suspect has not been handed
over to the Armenian side, says Artur Sakunts, Head of the Helsinki
Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office.

“We still do not know the motives behind this hideous crime. It is
equally important to understand why the murderer chose the Avetisyan
family,” he said.

Today a public discussion was organized in Gyumri on the appalling
murder of the Avetisyan family. The event was attended by 60 people.

A month has passed since the murder but the law enforcement agencies
have failed to provide reliable information on the tragedy,” says
Levon Barseghyan, chairman of Asparez Journalists’ Club in Gyumri.
The

Daniel Ionnisyan, Coordinator of the Union of Informed Citizens NGO,
says, “Many details are kept confidential though the investigation was
supposed to be transparent. The National Security Service and the
Prosecutor General’s Office have not given their replies yet.”

Three working groups were set up during the first public discussion
which later submitted the results of their work. The groups involve
journalists, lawyers and human rights activists, who wall develop and
coordinate tactions aimed at solving the crime and preventing its
repetition in the future.

The working groups stress that today Armenia is facing serious
problems in view of security.

Six members of the Avetisyan family, including a two-year-old child,
were shot dead in their house in Gyumri in the morning of January 12.
A six-month-old baby, Seryozha Avetisyan, was hospitalized with stab
wounds. He died in hospital a week later. The main suspect of the
crime, Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of Russian Military Base N 102
stationed in Gyumri, was detained by Russian border guards late in the
same day while attempting to cross the Armenian-Turkish border near
Yerazgavors village in Armenia’s Shirak province. The murder of the
seven-member family sparked violent protests in Gyumri and Yerevan,
with people demanding that Permyakov be handed over to Armenian
authorities and to stand trial by the Armenian law.

Book Review: ‘The Martyred Armenian Writers 1915-1922’
By Rupen Janbazianon February 14, 2015, Armenian Weekly

The Martyred Armenian Writers 1915-1922: An Anthology
By Herand M. Markarian
Libra-6 Productions, N.Y. (Jan. 2, 2015); 250 pages
ISBN 9780692344767; $20.00

As Armenians around the world prepare to commemorate the Centennial of the
Armenian Genocide, writer and playwright Dr. Herand Markarian has taken on
the ambitious task of memorializing 13 of the most prominent Armenian
writers who were martyred in the genocide, in a new anthology entitled The
Martyred Armenian Writers 1915-1922.
[image: Cover of Markarian’s ‘The Martyred Armenian Writers 1915-1922: An
Anthology’]

Cover of Markarian’s ‘The Martyred Armenian Writers 1915-1922: An Anthology’
Markarian’s anthology, which was published by Libra-6 Productions in New
York earlier this year, begins with an introduction to Armenian history,
with a particular focus on the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire and the
evolution of Ottoman-Armenian literature. Markarian then gives readers a
concise, yet methodical history of the Armenian Genocide through eyewitness
accounts, and a chronology of events during the genocide based on the
memoirs of the Very Rev. Krikoris Balakian. Markarian also dedicates a page
to the different prison sites where Armenian writers and intellectuals from
Constantinople were detained starting on April 24 and later murdered.
The final hours of Taniel Varoujan, Rupen Sevag, and Indra (Dikran
Chrakian) are detailed through excerpts from Micheal Shamdanjian and Ohan
Bedigian, two eyewitnesses to the genocide.
Markarian then provides comprehensive biographies of the 13 martyred
writers–which include Rupen Zartarian, Kegham Parseghian, Yerukhan (Yervant
Srmakeshkanlian), Hrant (Melkon Gurjian), and Taniel Varoujan–and
highlights their literary characteristics and accomplishments.
Perhaps the biggest highlight in Markarian’s anthology is his masterful
translation of the writers’ works. The excerpts are carefully selected and
are wide-ranging in literary style and genre–from plays, (like Smpad
Pyurad’s “The Eagle of Avarayr”) to poems (Siamanto’s “The Dance”) and both
fiction (Krikor Zohrab’s The Burden of Responsibility) and non-fiction
(Hrant’s Lives of Bantookht).
Markarian has done an exceptional job in presenting nearly all facets of
Armenian literature at the time. The translations of the original Armenian
versions are done meticulously, and are vital to the success of this book.
As we approach the 100th anniversary of the night when most of the profiled
writers were arrested and subsequently murdered, Markarian’s book proves to
be a fitting tribute to the martyrs of what is sometimes called our Red
Sunday.

From: A. Papazian

Pogrom Survivors Share Accounts of Azerbaijani Aggression with Congress

Friday, February 13th, 2015

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), with Baku survivor Marat Khoudabakhshiev,
ANCA Western Region Advisory Board member Garo Madenlian and ANCA
Western Region Legislative Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan

WASHINGTON–Armenian American activists, many with roots in Baku, took
part in a capacity-crowd Capitol Hill briefing and two-day series of
Congressional meetings, sharing with Members of Congress, for the
first time, their harrowing family accounts of Azerbajiani aggression
against the Armenian populations of Baku, Sumgait and Kirovabad and
advocating for robust U.S. assistance to ensure a brighter future for
the free citizens of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, reported the
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The ANCA sponsored Capitol Hill program, titled: “Nagorno Karabakh – A
Generation After Anti-Armenian Pogroms: The Challenge of Promoting
Peace and Developing Democracy,” featured powerful remarks by Anna
Astvatsaturian Turcotte, a lawyer, lecturer, and author of ‘Nowhere, A
Story of Exile,’ and Dr. Alina Dorian, an internationally respected
public health expert and advocate who has worked for decades to
strengthen and expand public health programs in Nagorno Karabakh.
Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone Jr. opened the
program by offering warm words of welcome, and ardent support for an
independent Artsakh.

Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) with
Vitaliy Dadadalyan, Anna Astvatsaturyan Turcotte, Dr. Alina Dorian,
Julia Papiyan and Marat Khoudabakhshiev at the ANCA Capitol Hill
briefing marking the 25th anniversary of the Baku pogroms and urging
robust U.S. aid to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic.

Joining Dorian and Turcotte as ardent spokespeople for Nagorno
Karabakh independence were Vitaliy Dadalyan, Marat Khoudabakhshiev and
Julia Papiyan, who traveled from Utah, California and Michigan,
respectively, to share their family stories of persecution in Baku
during the late 1980’s. In some 40 meetings with key Senate and House
leaders, Members of Congress were moved by their accounts of courage
and survival and inspired by the Nagorno Karabakh Republic’s
commitment to democracy and economic development. ANCA Western Region
Advisory Board Member Garo Madenlian, Esq. and ANCA-WR Legislative
Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan joined the ANCA Washington DC team in
facilitating Congressional outreach efforts and sharing the broad
range of Armenian American community priorities.

“The Baku Armenian community was well represented this week in
Washington by these remarkable young men and women,” stated ANCA
Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “They delivered powerful messages
of both remembrance and resolve across Capitol Hill, educating Members
of Congress about the atrocities committed against their families a
generation ago, and – just as importantly – demanding that American
leaders stand up for Artsakh’s, freedom, stand against Azerbaijani
aggression, and stand with all those seeking a fair and enduring
regional peace.”

This program, and last month’s Capitol Hill briefing on U.S.
philanthropy and the Armenian Genocide, were made possible by a
generous grant by the Aramian Family, in memory of the late Martha
Aramian – a respected community leader and devoted daughter of the
Armenian nation. Similar Capitol Hill presentations to educate Members
of Congress on a broad range of Armenian American concerns are
scheduled throughout the year.

Public discussions on Gyumri murder (video)

14:45 | February 14,2015 | Social

The Gyumri-based Asparez Club has initiated public discussions in
connection with the criminal case filed after last month’s murder of a
seven-member family in Gyumri.

The draft agenda includes,

comparison, combination and discussion of the available information
and controversial issues, as well as initiation of a
publicinvestigation intothe crime.
analysis of violations and offenses following the crime, the actions
of law enforcement agencies, their mistakes and inactivity,
determination of people’s actions to detect the crime and the ensuing
offenses and to hand over the suspect to the Armenian side.
development of defence mechanisms to defend citizens from similar crimes.

Six members of the Avetisyan family, including a two-year-old child,
were shot dead in their house in Gyumri in the morning of January 12.
A six-month-old baby, Seryozha Avetisyan, was hospitalized with stab
wounds. He died in hospital a week later. The main suspect of the
crime, Valery Permyakov, a serviceman of Russian Military Base N 102
stationed in Gyumri, was detained by Russian border guards late in the
same day while attempting to cross the Armenian-Turkish border near
Yerazgavors village in Armenia’s Shirak province. The murder of the
seven-member family sparked violent protests in Gyumri and Yerevan,
with people demanding that Permyakov be handed over to Armenian
authorities and to stand trial by the Armenian law.

They don’t want Robert Kocharyan to return using BHK-HHK conflict (video)

20:22 | February 13,2015 | Social

Yerevan residents don’t accept the rough assessments of Serzh Sargsyan
to BHK leader Gagik Tsarukyan unequivocally.

During HHK session Serzh Sargsyan spoke very angrily. He even used a
nickname while speaking about the leader of the party, which holds the
second place at the parliament and what’s more he said that he had
banned calling him by the nickname.

The opinions of the citizens in the video

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Opposition must consolidate over Gagik Tsarukyan – Aram Harutyunyan

15:10 / 14.02.2015

In the created situation the opposition must consolidate over Gagik
Tsarukyan, leader of National Consent party Aram Harutyunyan told the
reporters on Saturday.

“The PAP conference day was historic. That day the nerves of the
authorities gave in. Serzh Sargsyan has always presented himself as
grey cardinal, but it has appeared that he is not cardinal, he is
grey. The speech voiced by Serzh Sargsyan at the Republican party
Executive Body sitting was a shame. This unbalanced, cheap speech
showed that there is no party, it is a pack. The speeches of the other
members of the party showed that they serve their boss. The ruling
party is a pack of robbers,” Aram Harutyunyan said.

The party’s leader said that Serzh Sargsyan launched the process of
change of power which his speech. It showed that he is afraid of
Tsarukyan, while the latter with his response showed that he has
higher values and is ready to lose everything for the sake of the
people and the state.

AZERBAIJANI HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER HIDES IN SWISS EMBASSY TO BAKU SAVING HIMSELF FROM AUTHORITY CRACKDOWNS

19:19 12/02/2015 >> SOCIETY

Azerbaijani human rights defender Emin Huseynov is forced to hide in
Swiss embassy to Baku since 18 August, 2014 to escape the crackdowns
of the authorities of the country, “Caucasian Knot” reports referring
to the Norway fund “Human Rights House.”

As the article has it, he hid after the Azerbaijani authorities
searched the office of the Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
(IRFS) that was under his charge, and confiscated the equipment and
documents. The office of the organisation remains sealed since 11
August, 2014, and the employees are called to interrogation.

According to the article, Florian Irminger, the head of the Geneva
office of the organisation considers that Switzerland should go on
supporting the Azerbaijani human rights defender on humanitarian
grounds.

“His stay at the Embassy is justified with the crackdowns level in the
country, false charges against human rights defenders in Azerbaijan,
and the impossibility to defend oneself in the court because of the
lack of judicial system independence in the country and pressure on
their lawyers,” he claimed.

The Azerbaijani human right defender’s health problems are also pointed
out in the statement. Many of the problems are the consequences by
the Azerbaijani police beatings in 2003 and in 2008.

“Imprisonment in Azerbaijani prisons, well-known for their poor state,
would present a major risk to Emin Huseynov’s health. The lack of
access to the needed medical relief for Leyla Yunus and Intigam
Aliyev in pre-trial detention further underlines that Azerbaijani
authorities do not take all necessary measures to ensure that the
health of inmates does not suffer any harm,” Irminger stressed.

As the statement has it, Huseynov is facing various criminal charges,
similar to the ones held against human rights defender Rasul Jafarov
and human rights lawyer Intigam Aliyev, accused of tax evasion,
illegal business and abuse of authority. Leyla Yunus and her
husband Arif Yunus were charged on similar charges. On 26 May 2014,
Anar Mammadli and Bashir Suleymanli of the Election Monitoring and
Democracy Studies Centre were sentenced to respectively 5 years and
6 months imprisonment and 3 years and 6 months on same charges.

Huseynov’s family is facing various kinds of pressure from the
Azerbaijani authorities, the statement reads. “On 10 November 2014, the
blogger Mehman Huseynov, brother of Emin and also an IRFS employee,
was stopped and interrogated at the Baku Airport. He was issued a
travel ban. On 1 December 2014, the identity cards of Mehman Huseynov
were confiscated based on unclear grounds. The authorities have
also interrogated the mother of Huseynov. Employees of IRFS are also
questioned and put under pressure by the authorities. On 26 January
lawyer Gunay Ismayilov of IRFS was attacked outside her apartment in
the evening,” the statement notes.

On 11 February 2015 by the television show “Rundschau” of the Swiss
Radio Television, he has, since August 2014, been living at the Swiss
Embassy in Azerbaijan.

As “Radio Liberty” referring to SRF TV-channel reported, Emin Huseynov
could save himself from the prosecutions of the Azerbaijani police
“pretending himself a Swiss citizen”, “Caucasian Knot” writes.

According to the article, Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed in the
programme “Rundschau” that they had provided the Azerbaijani human
rights defender with shelter on humanitarian grounds.

“Since then we’ve been discussing the matter with the Azerbaijani
officials in order to find a solution to the situation,” the Swiss
Foreign Ministry written response reads.

REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: AZERBAIJAN RANKED 162ND PLACE OUT OF 180 COUNTRIES IN INDEX OF MEDIA FREEDOM

17:39 12/02/2015 >> SOCIETY

In the world press freedom index Azerbaijan ranks the 162nd out of
180 countries, worsening its position by two points, reported the
international organization “Reporters Without Borders” in its report.

Azerbaijan has managed to eliminate almost all traces of pluralism,
forcing the few remaining independent newspapers to close one by one
by throttling their sources of income, prosecuting them on trumped-up
charges and hounding their employees, the report reads.

“The imprisonment of Khadija Ismayilova, one of the pioneers of
investigative journalism in Azerbaijan (162nd), showed that Ilham
Aliyev’s autocratic regime has reached the point of no-return.

Arbitrary arrests, which drove dozens of journalists into exile
in 2014, turned the country into Europe’s biggest prison for news
providers,” the report reads.

“Reporters Without Borders” extreme violence is one of the methods used
against critical journalists and bloggers in Azerbaijan. Ilgar Nasibov,
one of the few independent journalists and human rights defenders
in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, was the target of a
brutal attack while working in his office on 21 August. In Azerbaijan,
the police increasingly use criminal thugs to do their dirty work and
sometimes coordinate operations with them. The report also notes that
last summer the Azerbaijani authorities have completely eliminated
the main NGOs supporting the media.

From: A. Papazian

HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK: PRESIDENT’S SPEECH WAS COLD SHOWER FOR POLITICAL FIELD

10:53 13/02/2015 >> DAILY PRESS

“The speech of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan at the RPA Council
meeting was a cold shower for the political field and everyone is
now asking: what will happen next? Some say unequivocally that Serzh
Sargsyan has declared a war against Prosperous Armenia leader Gagik
Tsarukyan. It will become clear soon what resources Tsarukyan has to
respond,” Haykakan Zhamanak writes.

Source: Panorama.am