AVETYAN MURDER ENGENDERS WAVES OF CONDEMNATION IN ARMENIA, DIASPORA
Armenian Weekly
July 11, 2012
WASHINGTON (A.W.)-The wave of condemnation, outrage, and protests
over the killing of Vahe Avetyan on June 17 continues to build in
Armenia and the Diaspora. Here in the U.S., the ARF Eastern Region
Central Committee contacted Armenia’s ambassador to the U.S., Tatoul
Markarian on July 6, to condemn the crime committed at the Harsnakar
restaurant in Avan. Ambassador Markarian, in turn, condemned the
crime and noted that the authorities are doing their best to hold the
perpetrators accountable and prevent such incidences from occurring
again in the future.
Demonstrators in front of Harsnakar On the West Coast, a delegation
from the ARF Western U.S. Central Committee met with Armenia’s consul
general to Los Angeles on July 3 to discuss the Harsnakar killing. The
delegation expressed the ARF’s concerns and outrage over the incident,
and the expectation that those arrested will be prosecuted and punished
to the full extent of the law.
The owner of Harsnakar, Ruben Hayrapetyan, also known as oligarch
“Nemets Rubo,” resigned from Parliament on July 3 following a meeting
with President Serge Sarkisian. Hayrapetyan is a member of the ruling
Republican Party. Three military doctors were beaten in Harsnakar
on June 17 and one, Major Vahe Avetyan, died on June 29 from severe
head trauma. A public outcry, and petitions demanding Hayrapetyan’s
resignation, followed soon after.
“I can’t forgive myself and I don’t know how to ask for forgiveness,”
Hayrapetyan said in his resignation letter. “I would have given
anything to be there on that ominous night, to grab the fists that
hit those young men, and to stop this tragedy that stole a life,
destroyed families, and left children orphaned. But I cannot. Vahe
is no longer with us; and I have to live with that; and I have to
look in the eyes of his family members. I don’t know how,” he added.
Harsnakar is a grand-scale restaurant and function hall where
extravagant wedding parties are held. Hayrapetyan owns numerous
other business ventures, among them the Bjni mineral water company
(which bottles Bjni and Noy), a hotel called Harsnakar on Lake Sevan,
and a bank. He is also the president of Armenia’s Football Federation.
Hayrapetyan was questioned on July 6 as a possible witness in the
crime, Arsen Ayvazyan from the police Inspectorate General of Criminal
Investigations told reporters. Although Hayrapetyan maintains that he
left Harsnakar some two hours before the attack on the three victims,
some have alleged that he ordered the beatings over the phone.
According to Ayvazyan, the police will investigate the phone
conversations between the perpetrators and Hayrapetyan once they
obtain recordings from the telephone companies per order of the court.
Ayvazyan, however, told reporters that “in their testimonies,
neither the victims nor the suspects or witnesses gave any
information regarding Ruben Hayrapetyan’s involvement… And in these
circumstances, with no evidence of his involvement in the criminal
case, naturally we cannot speak of arresting or charging him.”
It has been alleged that Hayrapetyan’s personal bodyguard, Garik
Markaryan, inflicted the fatal injuries on Avetyan. Yet, Ayvazyan said
the perpetrators were not Hayrapetyan’s bodyguards, and that they all
worked at the restaurant, adding that some had escorted Hayrapetyan
“on some special occasions.”
It is yet to be seen how the police handle the investigation. Public
distrust towards the police and the judicial branch has given way to
demonstrations staged around Harsnakar. The widespread belief is that
the oligarchs and their entourage have remained above the law.