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ATTORNEY PHOTOGRAPHER SARA ANJARGOLIAN EYES SOCIAL INJUSTICE IN ARMENIA
WNN - Women News Network
Jan 28 2014
Svetlana Bachevanova - WNN Features
An Armenian shrine to dead son Araik Avedisyan has been set up in the
bedroom that is still reserved only for him in his family home. Image:
Sara Anjargolian
(WNN) New York, New York, UNITED STATES, AMERICAS: With a 2002
Fulbright Scholarship U.S. California based Armenian American
photographer and attorney Sara Anjargolian fell in love with Armenia,
the country connected to her from childhood. But as she began to
explore the region her experience in law school reminded her, "It's
important to look at 'the-story-within-the-story'."
Documenting Armenian government impunity from 2011 to 2012 Anjargolian
brought the mystery, as she puts it, of one of the most "secretive"
institutions in the country, the veil of impunity within Armenia's
military industry. With military suicides that just 'do not add up'
the relatives of dead soldiers continue to ask for more supervised
and detailed investigations. Numerous relatives who have received
death announcements from the Ministry of Defense in the suicide of
their son, brother, father or husband don't believe the Armenian army
has given them the complete truth.
Without proof of the suicides families have been left to their own
devices to investigate and carefully retrace the steps leading up to
the death of their family member. Innocuously Armenia's Ministry of
Defense continues to ignore many of the cases that families say need
to be re-opened and investigated thoroughly.
My son's suicide just "doesn't make sense" say many of the mothers who
have lost their sons, some only a few months after their son enlisted
in the army. Some also believe that unexplained tampering and cover-up
by the military may have occurred in the death of their sons.
As the Armenian army continues to brush aside most claims that the
deaths are "not suicide," the deaths have created many more questions
than answers.
"As of October 31, [2013] the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor
office had reported 29 noncombat army deaths [within the ranks of the
Armenian army], including 7 suicides. Local human rights groups have
documented the Defense Ministry's failure to investigate adequately
and expose the circumstances of noncombat deaths and to account for
evidence of violence in cases where the death is ruled a suicide,"
outlined Human Rights Watch recently in their annual World Report
2014 Armenia update.
"...I discovered that the entire system in all sectors and at all
levels - including the investigators, the medical examiners, and the
courts - is set up to conspire against the truth," said Anjargolian.
In her interview with award-winning photojournalist Svetlana
Bachevanova, Sara Anjargolian talks about corruption and those who
want to stop it in Armenia.
As co-founder and publisher for FotoEvidence, working in the tradition
of using photography to draw attention to human rights violations,
injustice and oppression, Bachevanova is considered one of the world's
experts in today's field of photographic expose. As curator for the
July 2013 show mOther Armenia, in Armenia's capital city of Yerevan,
Bachevanova helped for very first time to show perspectives of some
of the best women photographers in the region.
"Women in Armenia still battle to establish a career," outlined
Bachevanova at the time of the show. "Women are still expected to
be full time mothers and housekeepers. But these ten documentarians
broke the rules and found a way to pursue careers and create powerful
bodies of work."
__________
Svetlana Bachevanova: In your recent work, "An Absent Presence,"
you have been witnessing and documenting the challenges of non-combat
fatalities in the Armenian military today. What did you discover?
Sara Anjargolian: I have been documenting social justice issues in
the former Soviet republic of Armenia for years, and the topic of
human rights abuses in the military was one of the most difficult I
have tackled. Not only are the activities of the military shrouded
in secrecy under the guise of "national security," but I discovered
that the entire system in all sectors and at all levels - including
the investigators, the medical examiners, and the courts - is set up
to conspire against the truth.
SB: Human rights groups believe that many reported suicides in the
Armenian army are really homicides involving complicit army officers
tampering with evidence and covering up these crimes. Is this the case?
SA: Yes, human rights organizations estimate the number of non-combat
deaths since Armenia's armed forces were established to be between
1500 and 3000 - although the facts of each case are deliberately
convoluted. Most of the time, we don't actually know what happened.
Usually "something" triggers a situation where a soldier ends up
dead - sometimes the situation is triggered by a commander who loses
control, sometimes it involves a group of soldiers hazing one soldier,
and sometimes a soldier witnesses illegal activity (like a narcotics
trade as in the case of Valery Muradyan or the stealing of fuel as in
the case of Arthur Ghazaryan) - and it seems that their witnessing
of these crimes leads to their death, and a fake suicide is staged
to cover up the murder.
SB: How did you learn about these issues in the Armenian military
and why did you decide to start working on this project?
SA: I photographed a series of protests two years ago in Armenia's
capital Yerevan involving families of soldiers who had died in
non-combat situations and who were demanding that the military and
government uncover what had happened to their sons. I wanted to know
more about this situation and began working on the project.
SB: Was it difficult to enter and photograph inside one of the most
secretive institution in Armenia?
SA: Photographing on the frontlines and military bases was not the
most difficult part - what is difficult is finding out the truth of
what happened in these cases. The military and legal system is set
up such that facts in these cases are buried in years of incompetent
investigations, layers of corruption, and a complete lack of motivation
in uncovering the truth.
Deceased soldier Valerik Muradyan's mother Nana sits alone on her
son's bed in his almost untouched bedroom in her home. Valerik's body
was found hanging from a metal pipe at the Haykazov military base in
Nagorno-Karabakh where he was serving. The military says he committed
suicide. Nana believes her son was killed and the suicide was staged
to cover up the murder. Image: Sara Anjargolian
SB: The story you showed for first time in the "mOTHER ARMENIA" exhibit
has two sides: the military that wants to present itself as a strong,
disciplined defender of the nation and the families who lost sons
to suspicious, non-combat deaths and question the discipline and
integrity of the military: Where does the truth lie?
SA: That is precisely the question I am asking through this work -
how can these two realities exist next to one another? I would like
for the viewers of this work to answer that question for themselves...
SB: How did the parents of the lost soldiers respond to your interest
in telling their sons' stories?
SA: Generally very responsive. Since the military and legal system
has not provided a credible forum through which these families can
seek redress, they are more than willing to seek alternative channels,
such as the court of public opinion, to tell their sons' stories.
SB: Is there a story you heard that still haunts you?
SA: What haunts me are the photographs the families shared with me
of the way their sons were found at the scene of the incident - one
hanging from a metal pipe, the other with a Kalashnikov in his mouth,
the other with a bruised body - I looked at these images for only a
day - these families live with these photographs, study them in detail
day-after-day, trying to figure out what happened to their children.
But what haunts me even more is the feeling in my stomach when I
leave the families homes, or when I leave the frontlines - that
sinking feeling of not being able to "change" anything.
SB: It is an act of bravery to try to uncover what lies behind
the deaths of soldiers that happened under mysterious and violent
circumstances, sometimes even involving drug trafficking. Do you
worry about your own security?
SA: There are moments when I think about whether or not I should be
afraid, but mostly I am so focused on the story and making sure the
work is true to the essence of the situation that I don't have much
time to worry about it. Not telling this story is not an option.
SB: How has the public in Armenia responded to your work?
SA: Very positive and supportive so far. In conjunction with the
Open Society Foundation office in Yerevan (which also funded the
project)...[a photography exhibit was sponsored].
SB: Do you think your work will prod the Armenian military to be
more open about non-combatant deaths and help the families of lost
soldiers find answers to their questions?
SA: It is always difficult to define if and how social justice
reportage will influence the situation it seeks to portray and
illuminate. I define success as being involved in the process of
change even if I personally do not see the final result.
In October 2011 family members of those who have died mysteriously
while serving in non-combat duty in the Armenian army protest in front
of the Republic of Armenia's Presidential Palace of President Serzh
Sargsyan in the capital city of Yerevan. As mothers hold pictures of
their dead sons saying their sons did not commit suicide the Armenian
government continues to refuse to investigate claims of abuse and
deadly bullying inside the army ranks. Family members say that the
facts in the continuing deaths just don't make sense as they ask for
cases inside the military to be properly and thoroughly investigated.
Non-combat deaths in 2014 are continuing to happen within the Armenian
army without government investigation.
http://womennewsnetwork.net/2014/01/28/photographer-sara-anjargolian/
WNN - Women News Network
Jan 28 2014
Svetlana Bachevanova - WNN Features
An Armenian shrine to dead son Araik Avedisyan has been set up in the
bedroom that is still reserved only for him in his family home. Image:
Sara Anjargolian
(WNN) New York, New York, UNITED STATES, AMERICAS: With a 2002
Fulbright Scholarship U.S. California based Armenian American
photographer and attorney Sara Anjargolian fell in love with Armenia,
the country connected to her from childhood. But as she began to
explore the region her experience in law school reminded her, "It's
important to look at 'the-story-within-the-story'."
Documenting Armenian government impunity from 2011 to 2012 Anjargolian
brought the mystery, as she puts it, of one of the most "secretive"
institutions in the country, the veil of impunity within Armenia's
military industry. With military suicides that just 'do not add up'
the relatives of dead soldiers continue to ask for more supervised
and detailed investigations. Numerous relatives who have received
death announcements from the Ministry of Defense in the suicide of
their son, brother, father or husband don't believe the Armenian army
has given them the complete truth.
Without proof of the suicides families have been left to their own
devices to investigate and carefully retrace the steps leading up to
the death of their family member. Innocuously Armenia's Ministry of
Defense continues to ignore many of the cases that families say need
to be re-opened and investigated thoroughly.
My son's suicide just "doesn't make sense" say many of the mothers who
have lost their sons, some only a few months after their son enlisted
in the army. Some also believe that unexplained tampering and cover-up
by the military may have occurred in the death of their sons.
As the Armenian army continues to brush aside most claims that the
deaths are "not suicide," the deaths have created many more questions
than answers.
"As of October 31, [2013] the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor
office had reported 29 noncombat army deaths [within the ranks of the
Armenian army], including 7 suicides. Local human rights groups have
documented the Defense Ministry's failure to investigate adequately
and expose the circumstances of noncombat deaths and to account for
evidence of violence in cases where the death is ruled a suicide,"
outlined Human Rights Watch recently in their annual World Report
2014 Armenia update.
"...I discovered that the entire system in all sectors and at all
levels - including the investigators, the medical examiners, and the
courts - is set up to conspire against the truth," said Anjargolian.
In her interview with award-winning photojournalist Svetlana
Bachevanova, Sara Anjargolian talks about corruption and those who
want to stop it in Armenia.
As co-founder and publisher for FotoEvidence, working in the tradition
of using photography to draw attention to human rights violations,
injustice and oppression, Bachevanova is considered one of the world's
experts in today's field of photographic expose. As curator for the
July 2013 show mOther Armenia, in Armenia's capital city of Yerevan,
Bachevanova helped for very first time to show perspectives of some
of the best women photographers in the region.
"Women in Armenia still battle to establish a career," outlined
Bachevanova at the time of the show. "Women are still expected to
be full time mothers and housekeepers. But these ten documentarians
broke the rules and found a way to pursue careers and create powerful
bodies of work."
__________
Svetlana Bachevanova: In your recent work, "An Absent Presence,"
you have been witnessing and documenting the challenges of non-combat
fatalities in the Armenian military today. What did you discover?
Sara Anjargolian: I have been documenting social justice issues in
the former Soviet republic of Armenia for years, and the topic of
human rights abuses in the military was one of the most difficult I
have tackled. Not only are the activities of the military shrouded
in secrecy under the guise of "national security," but I discovered
that the entire system in all sectors and at all levels - including
the investigators, the medical examiners, and the courts - is set up
to conspire against the truth.
SB: Human rights groups believe that many reported suicides in the
Armenian army are really homicides involving complicit army officers
tampering with evidence and covering up these crimes. Is this the case?
SA: Yes, human rights organizations estimate the number of non-combat
deaths since Armenia's armed forces were established to be between
1500 and 3000 - although the facts of each case are deliberately
convoluted. Most of the time, we don't actually know what happened.
Usually "something" triggers a situation where a soldier ends up
dead - sometimes the situation is triggered by a commander who loses
control, sometimes it involves a group of soldiers hazing one soldier,
and sometimes a soldier witnesses illegal activity (like a narcotics
trade as in the case of Valery Muradyan or the stealing of fuel as in
the case of Arthur Ghazaryan) - and it seems that their witnessing
of these crimes leads to their death, and a fake suicide is staged
to cover up the murder.
SB: How did you learn about these issues in the Armenian military
and why did you decide to start working on this project?
SA: I photographed a series of protests two years ago in Armenia's
capital Yerevan involving families of soldiers who had died in
non-combat situations and who were demanding that the military and
government uncover what had happened to their sons. I wanted to know
more about this situation and began working on the project.
SB: Was it difficult to enter and photograph inside one of the most
secretive institution in Armenia?
SA: Photographing on the frontlines and military bases was not the
most difficult part - what is difficult is finding out the truth of
what happened in these cases. The military and legal system is set
up such that facts in these cases are buried in years of incompetent
investigations, layers of corruption, and a complete lack of motivation
in uncovering the truth.
Deceased soldier Valerik Muradyan's mother Nana sits alone on her
son's bed in his almost untouched bedroom in her home. Valerik's body
was found hanging from a metal pipe at the Haykazov military base in
Nagorno-Karabakh where he was serving. The military says he committed
suicide. Nana believes her son was killed and the suicide was staged
to cover up the murder. Image: Sara Anjargolian
SB: The story you showed for first time in the "mOTHER ARMENIA" exhibit
has two sides: the military that wants to present itself as a strong,
disciplined defender of the nation and the families who lost sons
to suspicious, non-combat deaths and question the discipline and
integrity of the military: Where does the truth lie?
SA: That is precisely the question I am asking through this work -
how can these two realities exist next to one another? I would like
for the viewers of this work to answer that question for themselves...
SB: How did the parents of the lost soldiers respond to your interest
in telling their sons' stories?
SA: Generally very responsive. Since the military and legal system
has not provided a credible forum through which these families can
seek redress, they are more than willing to seek alternative channels,
such as the court of public opinion, to tell their sons' stories.
SB: Is there a story you heard that still haunts you?
SA: What haunts me are the photographs the families shared with me
of the way their sons were found at the scene of the incident - one
hanging from a metal pipe, the other with a Kalashnikov in his mouth,
the other with a bruised body - I looked at these images for only a
day - these families live with these photographs, study them in detail
day-after-day, trying to figure out what happened to their children.
But what haunts me even more is the feeling in my stomach when I
leave the families homes, or when I leave the frontlines - that
sinking feeling of not being able to "change" anything.
SB: It is an act of bravery to try to uncover what lies behind
the deaths of soldiers that happened under mysterious and violent
circumstances, sometimes even involving drug trafficking. Do you
worry about your own security?
SA: There are moments when I think about whether or not I should be
afraid, but mostly I am so focused on the story and making sure the
work is true to the essence of the situation that I don't have much
time to worry about it. Not telling this story is not an option.
SB: How has the public in Armenia responded to your work?
SA: Very positive and supportive so far. In conjunction with the
Open Society Foundation office in Yerevan (which also funded the
project)...[a photography exhibit was sponsored].
SB: Do you think your work will prod the Armenian military to be
more open about non-combatant deaths and help the families of lost
soldiers find answers to their questions?
SA: It is always difficult to define if and how social justice
reportage will influence the situation it seeks to portray and
illuminate. I define success as being involved in the process of
change even if I personally do not see the final result.
In October 2011 family members of those who have died mysteriously
while serving in non-combat duty in the Armenian army protest in front
of the Republic of Armenia's Presidential Palace of President Serzh
Sargsyan in the capital city of Yerevan. As mothers hold pictures of
their dead sons saying their sons did not commit suicide the Armenian
government continues to refuse to investigate claims of abuse and
deadly bullying inside the army ranks. Family members say that the
facts in the continuing deaths just don't make sense as they ask for
cases inside the military to be properly and thoroughly investigated.
Non-combat deaths in 2014 are continuing to happen within the Armenian
army without government investigation.
http://womennewsnetwork.net/2014/01/28/photographer-sara-anjargolian/