Shedding light on Tigran Abgarian's death on March 1.

Tigran Abgarian was one of the ten victims of March 1 massacre. He was a soldier that was seriously wounded in the neck area and died in April, 2008.

Yesterday the fact finding mission on March 1 determined that the official version of the circumstances of his death was incorrect and instead he was killed at close distance with a burst of automatic fire from a Kalashnikov rifle.

Today Haykakan Zhamanak has eyewitness accounts circulating among the police that shed light on who might have done it. On March 1, some soldiers refuse the orders to use arms against the civilian protesters. Tigran Abgarian was among them. Their commander, Grigor Grigorian, armed with an automatic rifle, hurries to the soldiers refusing to obey the orders. After a short time, a burst of gun fire was heard from that location and Tigran Abgarian was seriously wounded.

Փաստահավաք խմբի` նախօրեին հրապարակած փաստաթղթով պաշտոնապես հաստատվեց, որ մարտի 1-ի 10 զոհերից` ՈԶ թիվ 1033 զորամասի զինծառայող Տիգրան Աբգարյանի սպանության պաշտոնական վարկածը կեղծ է:

Տիգրան Աբգարյանի սպանության հետ կապված` ոստիկանների շրջանում մի պատմություն է շրջանառվում. մարտի 1-ին` ժամը 22-ի սահմաններում, երբ ՈԶ զինվորները եւ ոստիկանները Պարոնյան-Լեո խաչմերուկում են եղել, զինվորների մեջ ինչ-որ իրարանցում է սկսվել, նրանցից մի քանիսը ցանկացել են հեռանալ եւ հրաժարվել են սեփական ժողովրդի դեմ պատերազմել: ՈԶ նախկին հրամանատար Գրիգոր Գրիգորյանն ավտոմատը ձեռքին շտապել է "ապստամբող" զինվորների մոտ, քիչ անց կրակոցներ են հնչել, իսկ մեկ-երկու րոպե անց հայտնի է դարձել, որ մի զինվոր պարանոցի մասում մահացու վիրավորվել է:

Haik Gevorgian, now a free man.

Haik Gevorgian, a political prisoner who was arrested and imprisoned before the elections for taking part in a rally for Levon Ter-Petrossian's election campaign in the town of Talin, is now a free man. He completed the 1 year, 6 month imprisonment that the banditocracy had sentenced him to.

Oh boy.

Arman Babajanian losing his sight.

Recently it was discovered that one of the first political prisoners in post-Soviet Armenia, Arman Babajanian, has a brain tumor. He was imprisoned by the Kocharian administration a few years ago because he is the founder of the independent Zhamanak.com newspaper.

The Sargsian administration is now denying treatment. He has been diagnosed with cystic adenoma of the pituitary gland (from what I understood from the Armenian diagnosys "հիպոֆիզի կիստոզ ադենոմա (7.5 մմ), հետտրավմատիկ էնցեֆալոպատիա՝ ցնցումային համախտանիշով, ձախակողմյան հեմիպարեզով") which hopefully is still benign. Given that the tumor is growing rapidly and is causing him to lose his vision, the sooner the adenoma is removed surgically, the better the chance that it doesn't turn into cancer. The diagnosys talks about encephalopathy cause by a trauma to the head...

He will regain his freedom this September.

Bank Holdup.

What happens when all the state police resources are employed to harass the political opponents of the ruling regime?

You can have one certain result: the crime rate goes up. The readers of this blog will recall the Armenian police report a couple of months ago that reported a 57% rise in year to date crime compared to the same period the previous year. There are anecdotal reports about the gangsters shooting each other up or harassing the civilians (the latest example being last week when the son of the Gyumri mayor shot a civilian and permanently disabled him).

The latest big crime was the first bank holdup in the history of the country yesterday morning. Three masked and armed men robbed a branch of the VTB bank on Baghramian and got away with an estimated 5 million drams (about $10,700). I'm sure the Armenian police are proud of themselves.

This is why SS and his regime have to leave.

Looking for the land of opportunity

Well worth the few minutes it takes to read. A BBC article on inequality and social mobility.

«Երեւան Կենտրոն» ՔԿՀ

I couldn't have said it better.

From the Aravot commentaries on today's content (on the surrender of the free regions around Karabakh):

Hayk 17/07/09 [21:18]
Menq arden tesel enq "Anvtangutyan erashxiqner@". Mer erexaneri aryan gnov irenc gazi u navti trubaner@ piti hascnen €vropa, vor irenc erexaneri hetuyqner@ hankarc mi jam chsaren.

[in English] We have already seen 'Safety Guarantees'. They will lay natural gas and oil pipelines to Europe at the cost of the blood of our kids so that, God forbid, the butts of their kids do not get cold for a moment.

Nunchucks.

Watched the grilling of Sotomeyor by the Republican Senators for about half an hour today. She was pretty good on answering the questions and basically maintaining the message that a judge is there to interpret the laws and not create them. But the main lesson lesson was that the Senators just love talking and listening to themselves.

The NRA is against Sotomayor even though she is not against nunchucks (yes, the Republicans kept talking about it). Even though I'm a card carrying gun owner and the Second Amendment is dear to me, it is precisely this kind of bizarre behavior by the NRA that I don't get. I can understand them as they know that once you have the government involved, you can never roll it back and things will get worse. But sometimes they just don't make sense.

How do you make things worse?

Let's say a country has a few dozen political prisoners and is always enthusiastic to add to that number. That is pretty bad! But any self-respecting authoritarian regime is eager to make things worse.

So, how can you make things worse for your country?

1. Arrest more people for their political grounds (ex. Tigran Arakelian).

2. Expand your target demographics (ex. the arrest of the 14 year old Herbert Gevorgian [who was assaulted together with Tigran Arakelian and sustained a broken nose]).

3. Build a criminal case against the defense lawyers of the political prisoners (ex. the charging of Nikol Pashinian's lawyers for criminally disrespecting a judge [whatever that means]).

This is how you turn a country into a cesspool, ladies and gentlemen.

Legions of Newly Homeless.

Today when I was driving around the town, there were homeless people asking for help at every highway exit. It looked like an army of homeless people had descended upon the city. The logical explanation at the time was 'things must be really bad' since I had never seen anything like that before.

The Washington Post has an article today about the newly homeless. Scary times we live in.

British Humor.

From the Russian Service on BBC. Pictured are presidents Obama and Medvedev in Kremlin, in front of the Tsar Canon. The caption of the photo says:

Dmitriy Medvedev showcased a few products of Russian defense industries to Barack Obama.

News Headlines.

Obama is in Russia - his visit is covered in only one story while the media is full of stories about Michael Jackson's funeral.

Sometimes the priorities of the average American couch potato baffle me.

From my iGoogle today.

Thomas Jefferson : a great President even though I am still partial about him being against slavery and yet owning them

Another Political Prisoner.

The readers of this blog may already know about the physical assault against HAK on July 1, 2009. A group of HAK youths were distributing leaflets for the upcoming HAK demonstration when a group of hooligans attacked them and assaulted them. Some of the youths were pistol whipped and there are a couple of instances of them being held at gunpoint. Three of the youths were hospitalized with broken bones and one of them had concussion.

The group of hooligans, it turns out, were KGB people in civilian clothing.

Yesterday one of the hospitalized who was pistol-whipped, Tigran Arakelian, was imprisoned - he was called to be interviewed as a witness to the event but then was arrested.

He is accused of:
- attacking three policemen,
- beating them up, and;
- when the policemen tried to run away to escape him, he is accused of:
- chasing them down and;
- beating them again.

For a moment one might think that Mr. Arakelian is a vicious animal but the picture above shows that you can fit two Mr. Arakelians in the space an average ment (Armenian cop) occupies.

So, we have one more political prisoner.

UPDATE: Mr. Arakelian is now on hunger strike.

Nikol Pashinian's announcement prior to his surrender.

Սիրելի ժողովուրդ.

Քիչ հետո ես կլքեմ այս տարածքը, որ հանգամանքների բերումով ստիպված եմ ընդհատակ անվանել, եւ ուղղություն կվերցնեմ դեպի ՀՀ գլխավոր դատախազության շենք, որտեղ գտնվում է Հատուկ քննչական ծառայությունը: Այս քայլին դիմում եմ ի կատարումն ընդհատակից դուրս գալու եւ հատագա քաղաքական պայքարս բանտում շարունակելու խոստման: Այս ծրագրի իրագործման համար ինձ անհրաժեշտ է Հատուկ քննչական ծառայության օգնությունը, եւ ես մի քանի ժամից կլինեմ այնտեղ:

Ընդհատակից դուրս գալու որոշման հիմնավորումներին անդրադարձել եմ հունիսի 24-ի հայտարարության մեջ, եւ չեմ կարծում, թե այդ թեմային կրկին անդրադառնալու կարիք կա: Այս ուղերձով ուզում եմ ուղիղ նայել ՀՀ յուրաքանչյուր քաղաքացու աչքերի մեջ, եւ ընդգծել, որ մեր պայքարը հանուն Ազատ եւ Երջանիկ Հայաստանի է, հանուն այնպիսի Հայաստանի, որ ապահով տուն եւ տաք օջախ լինի յուրաքանչյուր քաղաքացու համար` անկախ քաղաքական հայացքներից, սոցիալական եւ հանրային դիրքից:

Եւ ուրեմն` հանուն Ազատ եւ Երջանիկ Հայաստանի մղվող մեր պայքարը անկասելի է, մեր հաղթանակը անխուսափելի է, մենք պայքարելու ենք մինչեւ վերջ ու հաղթելու ենք:

Կեցցե Ազատությունը, կեցցե Հայաստանի Հանրապետությունը, կեցցեն մեր երեխաները, որ ապրելու են Ազատ եւ Երջանիկ Հայաստանում:

Հ.Գ. Տեղյակ եմ, որ մեր շատ համախոհներ ինձ սպասում էին վաղը կայանալիք հանրահավաքում: Նման հնարավորության շուրջ երկար եմ մտածել, բայց ի վերջո բացառել եմ այդ տարբերակը, որովհետեւ չեմ ցանկանում տպավորություն ստեղծվի, թե մեր Շարժման տասնյակ հազարավոր կողմնակիցների թիկունքում թաքնվելու փորձ եմ անում: Հնարավոր շահարկումներից խուսափելու համար, ահա ընտրեցի իրադարձությունների զարգացման հենց վերը նշված տարբերակը:

07/01/2009

FBI Reports: Saddam's Weapons Bluff Aimed At Iran

[...] WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Saddam Hussein believed Iran was a significant threat to Iraq and left open the possibility that he had weapons of mass destruction rather than appear vulnerable, according to declassified FBI documents on interrogations of the former Iraqi leader. [...] from Radio Liberty

I can't really believe that the US government did not know about that and had to learn from questioning Saddam Hussein. All this time I thought that the government knew that Saddam was bluffing and Cheney and Bush chose to ignore this knowledge.

Maybe the lower ranks knew but the political appointees were there to accommodate the foreign policy under Clinton and Bush Jr.

+1

Nikol Pashinian surrendered to the police today in Yerevan.

The number of the political prisoners went up by one.

Photo via Pigh.