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Russian Remorse: Moscow breaks silence over Gyumri murders after
protests in Armenia
Politics | 19.01.15 | 15:40
GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
A week after the shocking events in Gyumri Armenia's key ally, Russia,
finally broke the silence, when the Armenian and Russian presidents
had a telephone conversation.
On the initiative of the Russian side on Sunday Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone
conversation when Putin "once again" expressed his condolences to the
Armenian nation and the relatives of the victims of the Gyumri murders
allegedly committed by a Russian soldier.
On January 12, in Gyumri six members of a family were shot dead in
their own house, and an infant is in hospital with severe wounds. The
only accused of this crime at the moment is a 19-year-old serviceman
at the Russian military base in Gyumi, Valeri Permyakov. He was
apprehended by Russian border guards, and currently he is under arrest
at the Russian military base, a fact that last week made numerous
Gyumri residents, as well as Yerevanians take to streets and demand
that the suspect be handed over to Armenian authorities.
It is noteworthy that Putin expressed "confidence that a comprehensive
and efficient investigation will be conducted and all those
responsible for the crime will be punished in accordance with the
law."
Political analyst, founder and president of the Armenian Institute of
International and Security Affairs Stepan Safaryan said with sarcasm
that in fact it took the Russian president a week to realize that
those responsible must be disclosed.
"To be more serious, however, I think that the Russian president at
the moment is trying 'to catch fish in dirty water', it was somehow
explained to him that even most Russia-oriented citizens of Armenia
can simply change their attitude toward Russia by 180 degrees because
of one incident, which is again awakening. Gyumri stood up for itself
and thus solved a problem," Safaryan said.
Globalization and Regional Cooperation Organization head Stepan
Grigoryan thinks that it is very good that Putin expressed
condolences.
"But for the protests in Gyumri, but for the people's complaints,
there wouldn't be the Russian president's reaction, not because Russia
is not attentive or does not want to, does not respect, but simply
because that country is a big country with thousands of problems, but
raising the issue the residents of Gyumri showed that this is a very
serious question, and this made Russia realize that the situation is
serious," Grigoryan said.
It is also remarkable that only days after the incident Russian media
started to cover it, earlier they were mostly silent, only some
websites gave information, however not complete.
Meanwhile, on Sunday already during a live talk show, Voskresni
Vecher, on Rossia 1TV channel well-known Russian journalist and
program host Vladimir Solovyov at the end of the show expressed
condolences to the "fraternal nation of Armenia for the brutal crime
in Gyumri" and said that the cruel crime will be disclosed, and that
crime knows no nationality or ethnicity.
Also on Sunday famous Russian show host Andrei Malakhov was seen
entering the City Hall building in Gyumri. On the eve of the
Avetisyans' funeral, when the whole Gyumri and the Armenian nation was
in grief mourning the loss, Malakhov made a program about three ethnic
Armenian men who quarreled in Krasnodar for a Russian girl, with some
participants in the show shaming Armenians as people for such
behavior. It drew strong criticism from many Armenian viewers, with
some sending open letters to Malakhov and questioning his
professionalism or integrity. Later it became known that Malakhov
expressed condolences to the Gyumri mayor regarding the brutal murder
of the Avetisyans and offered apologies for the offensive comments
about Armenians made during the January 14 show.
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/59923/armenia_russia_gyumri_family_murder_putin_sargsyan
From: Baghdasarian
protests in Armenia
Politics | 19.01.15 | 15:40
GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN
ArmeniaNow reporter
A week after the shocking events in Gyumri Armenia's key ally, Russia,
finally broke the silence, when the Armenian and Russian presidents
had a telephone conversation.
On the initiative of the Russian side on Sunday Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan and Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone
conversation when Putin "once again" expressed his condolences to the
Armenian nation and the relatives of the victims of the Gyumri murders
allegedly committed by a Russian soldier.
On January 12, in Gyumri six members of a family were shot dead in
their own house, and an infant is in hospital with severe wounds. The
only accused of this crime at the moment is a 19-year-old serviceman
at the Russian military base in Gyumi, Valeri Permyakov. He was
apprehended by Russian border guards, and currently he is under arrest
at the Russian military base, a fact that last week made numerous
Gyumri residents, as well as Yerevanians take to streets and demand
that the suspect be handed over to Armenian authorities.
It is noteworthy that Putin expressed "confidence that a comprehensive
and efficient investigation will be conducted and all those
responsible for the crime will be punished in accordance with the
law."
Political analyst, founder and president of the Armenian Institute of
International and Security Affairs Stepan Safaryan said with sarcasm
that in fact it took the Russian president a week to realize that
those responsible must be disclosed.
"To be more serious, however, I think that the Russian president at
the moment is trying 'to catch fish in dirty water', it was somehow
explained to him that even most Russia-oriented citizens of Armenia
can simply change their attitude toward Russia by 180 degrees because
of one incident, which is again awakening. Gyumri stood up for itself
and thus solved a problem," Safaryan said.
Globalization and Regional Cooperation Organization head Stepan
Grigoryan thinks that it is very good that Putin expressed
condolences.
"But for the protests in Gyumri, but for the people's complaints,
there wouldn't be the Russian president's reaction, not because Russia
is not attentive or does not want to, does not respect, but simply
because that country is a big country with thousands of problems, but
raising the issue the residents of Gyumri showed that this is a very
serious question, and this made Russia realize that the situation is
serious," Grigoryan said.
It is also remarkable that only days after the incident Russian media
started to cover it, earlier they were mostly silent, only some
websites gave information, however not complete.
Meanwhile, on Sunday already during a live talk show, Voskresni
Vecher, on Rossia 1TV channel well-known Russian journalist and
program host Vladimir Solovyov at the end of the show expressed
condolences to the "fraternal nation of Armenia for the brutal crime
in Gyumri" and said that the cruel crime will be disclosed, and that
crime knows no nationality or ethnicity.
Also on Sunday famous Russian show host Andrei Malakhov was seen
entering the City Hall building in Gyumri. On the eve of the
Avetisyans' funeral, when the whole Gyumri and the Armenian nation was
in grief mourning the loss, Malakhov made a program about three ethnic
Armenian men who quarreled in Krasnodar for a Russian girl, with some
participants in the show shaming Armenians as people for such
behavior. It drew strong criticism from many Armenian viewers, with
some sending open letters to Malakhov and questioning his
professionalism or integrity. Later it became known that Malakhov
expressed condolences to the Gyumri mayor regarding the brutal murder
of the Avetisyans and offered apologies for the offensive comments
about Armenians made during the January 14 show.
http://armenianow.com/news/politics/59923/armenia_russia_gyumri_family_murder_putin_sargsyan
From: Baghdasarian