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WHY DO PEOPLE DIE NEAR AN ARMENIAN GOVERNOR'S HOUSE?
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
June 20 2013
David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
A shootout took place near the house of the Syunik Region's governor,
Suren Khachatryan, in the south of Armenia on June 2nd. As a result
one person was killed, the other fall into a coma in hospital, the
third one was injured.
One side of the fire-fight included the former candidate to mayor of
the city of Goris, Avetik Budagyan, and his brother, a commander of
a military unite, Colonel Artak Budagyan; another side consisted of
the governor's son Tigran Khachatryan and bodyguards of his father.
The conflict began at a festive dinner where Suren Khachatryan and
the brothers Budagyan were present. They had tense relations because
Khachatryan didn't want Avetik Budagyan to be a candidate to the mayor
position. At the dinner the governor publicly insulted the brothers,
after that they decided to sort things out near Khachatryan's house,
using guns. By the way, the governor told the investigation that he
knew nothing about the shootout because "he was sleeping tightly"
at home.
To figure it out, we should look at the personality of the governor
who got a whole region for management. Having a prior conviction,
Khachatryan has many times got into scandals, but due to the support
of top authorities he has always managed to avoid responsibility.
A couple of years ago the Special Investigation Service of Armenia
initiated a criminal case against Khachatryan, when he publicly
hit businesswoman Silva Ambartsumyan for she demanded return her
money which the governor lent for buying an equipment for the mining
and concentrating complex - several thousand dollars. However, the
investigation found no evidence against him and as always Khachatryan
avoided responsibility.
There were four criminal cases initiated against the governor and
his brothers. The whole region feared him and few dared to oppose the
criminal governor. Nevertheless, this time the situation has changed
because the population seems to be over Khachatryan's permissiveness.
Residents of Syunik wrote a letter to President Serge Sargsyan and
demanded immediate dismissal of the governor-cutthroat.
The reaction of top officials confirmed that the situation had
changed. They decided to deal with Khachatryan seriously. A criminal
case was initiated over the shootout by the investigation service
of the Internal Ministry of Armenia. The court delivered a sanction
for a two-month arrest of Khachatryan's son and one of his guards,
Zarzabd Nikogosyan. After this, the government of Armenia made a
decision to dismiss Khachatryan from the position of the governor.
The press secretary of the President promised the population that "the
investigation will be independent and detailed; fair legal evaluation
will be given to behavior of all people involved in the incident."
Khachatryan fell and everybody began to criticize him heavily.
Considering the "rich" biography of Khachatryan, it appears that
his former sponsors are interested in his dismissal now. In the
context of criminal rules accepted in the so-called political elite,
the campaign against Khachatryan and his resignation surprise us
because Khachatryan has always been a guarantee for victory of RPA's
candidates in all elections in Syunik. Probably, Kachatryan appeared
to be useless or almost useless for President, considering the fact
Sargsyan is being President for his last term. Today the authorities
need a whipping boy, and they have found him in Khachatryan.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/41658.html
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
June 20 2013
David Stepanyan, Yerevan. Exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
A shootout took place near the house of the Syunik Region's governor,
Suren Khachatryan, in the south of Armenia on June 2nd. As a result
one person was killed, the other fall into a coma in hospital, the
third one was injured.
One side of the fire-fight included the former candidate to mayor of
the city of Goris, Avetik Budagyan, and his brother, a commander of
a military unite, Colonel Artak Budagyan; another side consisted of
the governor's son Tigran Khachatryan and bodyguards of his father.
The conflict began at a festive dinner where Suren Khachatryan and
the brothers Budagyan were present. They had tense relations because
Khachatryan didn't want Avetik Budagyan to be a candidate to the mayor
position. At the dinner the governor publicly insulted the brothers,
after that they decided to sort things out near Khachatryan's house,
using guns. By the way, the governor told the investigation that he
knew nothing about the shootout because "he was sleeping tightly"
at home.
To figure it out, we should look at the personality of the governor
who got a whole region for management. Having a prior conviction,
Khachatryan has many times got into scandals, but due to the support
of top authorities he has always managed to avoid responsibility.
A couple of years ago the Special Investigation Service of Armenia
initiated a criminal case against Khachatryan, when he publicly
hit businesswoman Silva Ambartsumyan for she demanded return her
money which the governor lent for buying an equipment for the mining
and concentrating complex - several thousand dollars. However, the
investigation found no evidence against him and as always Khachatryan
avoided responsibility.
There were four criminal cases initiated against the governor and
his brothers. The whole region feared him and few dared to oppose the
criminal governor. Nevertheless, this time the situation has changed
because the population seems to be over Khachatryan's permissiveness.
Residents of Syunik wrote a letter to President Serge Sargsyan and
demanded immediate dismissal of the governor-cutthroat.
The reaction of top officials confirmed that the situation had
changed. They decided to deal with Khachatryan seriously. A criminal
case was initiated over the shootout by the investigation service
of the Internal Ministry of Armenia. The court delivered a sanction
for a two-month arrest of Khachatryan's son and one of his guards,
Zarzabd Nikogosyan. After this, the government of Armenia made a
decision to dismiss Khachatryan from the position of the governor.
The press secretary of the President promised the population that "the
investigation will be independent and detailed; fair legal evaluation
will be given to behavior of all people involved in the incident."
Khachatryan fell and everybody began to criticize him heavily.
Considering the "rich" biography of Khachatryan, it appears that
his former sponsors are interested in his dismissal now. In the
context of criminal rules accepted in the so-called political elite,
the campaign against Khachatryan and his resignation surprise us
because Khachatryan has always been a guarantee for victory of RPA's
candidates in all elections in Syunik. Probably, Kachatryan appeared
to be useless or almost useless for President, considering the fact
Sargsyan is being President for his last term. Today the authorities
need a whipping boy, and they have found him in Khachatryan.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/articles/politics/41658.html