ANALYSIS: GYUMRI TRAGEDY RAISES QUESTIONS OVER ARMENIAN SOVEREIGNTY
Analysis | 16.01.15 | 11:16
By Naira Hayrumyan
ArmeniaNow correspondent
A series of protests took place in Armenia on January 15, with
some experts trying to characterize them as “anti-Russian”. But the
protesters in Armenia and Gyumri put forward only one demand – to hand
over the Russian serviceman who is charged with butchering an Armenian
family in Gyumri to Armenian law-enforcement authorities. Many in
Armenia feel this is an acid test for the sovereignty of the country
which officially became a member of the Russian-led trade bloc at
the beginning of this year.
Russian online media are actively discussing the protests in Gyumri and
Yerevan, which resulted in late-night clashes between demonstrators and
the police. But the main subject of the Russian media is the question
on whether Armenia will demand the withdrawal of the 102nd Russian
military base from the country. The suspect, Valery Permyakov, is a
serviceman at this base and it is there that he is now being kept in
custody – under Russian law.
However, in Armenia the demands for the withdrawal of the base
are voiced only at the level of social media. As for the political
leadership of the country, no one has yet given a political assessment
of what has happened. The reaction was limited to President Serzh
Sargsyan’s convening a closed meeting, the government at its meeting
observed a minute’s silence in memory of the innocent killed people,
and Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan said that the case
should be investigated by Armenian and Russian law-enforcement
agencies, but only in Armenia.
Both in Yerevan and Moscow politicians have warned against politicizing
the issue. But there was no politicization immediately after the
brutal murder. Some activists began to make political demands only
after the Russian side effectively refused to hand over the suspected
criminal to Armenian justice. Immediately the question arose as to what
territory the jurisdiction of Russia in Armenia spreads and whether
the Armenian state has the possibility of administering justice in
its own sovereign territory.
The debate about Armenia’s sovereignty became topical after September
3, 2013 when President Sargsyan unexpectedly announced that Armenia
intends to join the Eurasian Union, a Russian-led economic grouping of
several former Soviet nations, and therefore, Armenia would submit in
certain matters to supranational bodies. Then some political forces in
Armenia raised questions over that decision that they said challenged
the nation’s sovereignty.
Proponents of Eurasian integration justified the partial waiver
of sovereignty by security considerations. Now, after the tragedy
in Gyumri, it became clear to many that security has become more
vulnerable, and a Russian soldier can shoot people peacefully sleeping
at their home and Armenia cannot even try him by its laws.
Whether the tragedy in Gyumri will stir a wave of protests against
the surrender of sovereignty is a matter of interest not only to the
citizens of Armenia and Russia. NATO’s special representative to the
South Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai made a surprise visit
to Armenia and on January 15 met with the leadership of the country,
expressing hope that Armenia will take the right decision over the
tragedy in Gyumri.
It is difficult to predict the further turn of events, but some
conclusions can already be drawn – in Armenia the stereotype of
Russians’ ‘inviolability’ has been cultivated for years is now broken.
Russian flags have been torn off the Consulate of Russia in Gyumri
and thousands of people were ready to break into the Russian base. An
attempt to burn a Russian flag was made at Russia’s embassy in Yerevan
and the slogan “We are the masters of our country” was put forward.