"Let's rally unanimously near Matenadaran!"

On the eve of an opposition’s rally of March 1 over 44 political prisoners issued a statement which runs; After a crackdown on the opposition’s rally of last March, the criminal regime staged a coup and spared no effort to break down and crush public determination and will to struggle for their fundamental rights. But all their efforts failed. On the eve of the March 1 rally the authorities apply the same methods to bar your participation in the rally. Dear compatriots! Do not fear or pay attention to the illegal menaces of the regime as they do not have any right to ban the rally. The right to assemblies is set down in the Armenian Constitution. Instead of intervening with the rally the authorities had better create favourable conditions for it. Hence, we appeal to everyone to take part in the rally with a winner’s resolution in order to • end the “cause” our friends sacrificed for, • disclose and punish the perpetrators of the March 1 bloodshed, • release the political prisoners, resist tax and economic pressure exerted by the regime. We call on everyone to meet the first day of spring near the Matenadaran, at 3.00 March 1.
Alexander Arzumanyan, Myasnik Malkhasyan, Gagik Jhangiryan , Smbat Ayvazyan, Sasun Mikayelyan, Hakob Hakobyan, Grigor Voskerchyan, Suren Sirunyan, Shant Harutyunyan, Mushegh Saghatelyan, Tigran Mkrtchyan, Levon Khachatryan, Tigran Melkonyan, Gevorg Ghazaryan, Ashot Zakaryan, Hovhannes Harutyuntyan, Kristopher Elazyan , Vardan Ghavalbabunts, Harutyun Gharibyan, Mkrtich Safeyan, Jora Safeyan, Armen Sirunyan, Vardges Gaspari, Samvel Karapetyan, Simon Amirkhanyan, Aram Bareghamyan, Sos Gevorgyan, Armen Sargsyan, Sargis Hatspanyan, Mkrtich Abrahamyan, Armenak Abrahamyan, Roman Mnatsakanyan, Nver Stepanyan, Arman Babajanyan, Marzpetuny Ayvazyan, Tatev Gasparyan, Harutyun Urutyan, Ashot Manukyan, Gevorg Manukyan, Shmavon Galstyan, Felix Gevorgyan, David Aghayan, Petros Makeyan, David Matevosyan posted on: http://www.a1plus.am/

ONE YEAR AFTER

The material is documentated and written by Andreea Tanase.

Armenian opposition still lives March 1 2008 events

March 1st, Yerevan, Armenia, the Opera Square. Levon Ter-Petrosian, the first president of Armenia and the counter-candidate of the actual president during the February 2008 elections, was smoking, muffled in a blanket, on a bench outside the Opera House. The police and the special troops were all over the place. It was a dark day for Armenia. The government decided to end the 10-day protests that followed the presidential elections. By force. In a few hours' time, the centre of Yerevan became a battlefield. Army, police, special troops, shields, torched cars, bats, sticks, wounded people, tear gas, shootings, despair, screaming, dead people. These events that shook Armenia were vague related by the international press, they faded in the shadow of Province of Kosovo's declaration of independence.

The events on March 1st 2008 left a big gap on the Armenian political scene, 10 dead people, about 200 wounded people, controversies, political leaders sent to prison, 59 political prisoners, an accusing opposition, a daily protest on the North Boulevard, that was held weekly one in front of the General Prosecution Office, marches, a segregated society and lots of question marks. Some people, more or less involved in politics, but nonetheless affected by the March 1st events, sharpened the tip of an arrow pointed against the present government. Below, they tell their stories by themselves, arranged like pieces of a puzzle in the frame of the fight for the right to democracy, for a free society, for the freedom of speech.

The Dead Man's Family and the Commission Chief

It was already 8 o'clock when I called him on his mobile phone, but he didn't answer. My husband got worried and went out to look for him. I phoned all our acquaintances and friends to ask them if they knew something about Gor, but nobody had seen him, says to his mother. Gor Caloyan died on the morning of March 2nd, at 4 am, wounded by a tear gas shell that had pierced into his leg. He was shot on the streets of Yerevan. He was 28 years old and he had a wife and two children – Liova, 8 months old, and Sarkys, aged 3. He wasn't a member of any political party and he was led to the center of the city by pure curiosity, on March 1st. He left behind a grieveing family, two children and no spark of hope for them.

I entered Gor's house after many days of assiduous pursuit and insistences. None of the March 1st victims’ relatives wanted to talk about what they had been through. I was kindly welcomed but with skepticism and asked who I was working for and why I was interested in listening to their story. All those who had anything to do with the authorities during the events or afterwards were afraid to speak, especially to the press.

Azatuhi Manukyan is Gor's mother and she is 50 years old. She started talking with a strangled voice about how her life changed starting from March 1st:

When he heard about what was happening in the Opera Square on the morning of March 1st, Gor got curious. It was Saturday, our rest-day. Gor enjoyed sleeping late, but he woke up early that morning, he drank his coffee and left the house. I asked him not to go too far from the house. He came back, already knowing what was happening outside the French Embassy. He stayed at home for a while, drank another cup of coffee and told me about what he had dreamt the night before. In his dream, all of his teeth had fallen off and he couldn't put them back. I asked him not to leave the house, because that was a bad sign, and I told him that something bad was going to happen.

I told the policemen that they could've aimed at the feet of the protesters and, that way, they wouldn't have died, Samuel Nikoyan, chief of the commission who investigated the March 1st events, tells me, during an interview. But the situation is different in hand-to-hand combat situations. For instance, one protester threw a grenade in the middle of the police forces, killing one of them and wounding others. Then, another protester came towards the policemen and wanted to throw something too. If they had let him to, that 'something' could've been another grenade. But after they fired, the policemen saw that the man wanted to throw a rock at them. It was dark and they couldn't see very well. They didn't take the risk. It's complicated to state an accusation.

My son wasn't involved in any political event. He took part in the voting process as a proxy for Serj Sarkisian, on the behalf of the Bargavadj Hayastani Party (The Prosperous Armenia). I was worried about him and I told him not to get involved in politics and in the elections. But he participated out of curiosity. After the elections he behaved normally, leading his usual life. He worked as a driver for a factory. He left in the morning, at 7 am, and came back in the evening, after 8 pm.

Somebody told my husband he had seen a man in hospital that resembled Gor. I wasn't told that and so I stayed home waiting, crying and worrying, knowing that something had happened to him. Then, some neighbours who didn't know I hadn't heard from Gor came and told me he was in hospital, with a wounded leg, that he had suffered surgical intervention, trying to calm me down. I asked them to take me to the hospital in their car, but the roads were closed, so I couldn't get too far. When I managed to get there, all our relatives were at the hospital and everybody knew what had happened. Gor was in the operating room and the doctor said the operation was working out fine and that he would be all right. During this time, the wounded were being brought in large numbers. There were so many of them, that I feared that they couldn't offer medical assistence to all of them.

It was 2 am when they announced that a man of 31 yearsold had died. His friend who was nearby even received his death certificate. It happened in the same place where Gor was and that deepened my despair. I cried for that boy and I was worried, but I wasn't thinking that it would also happen to me. It was around 4 am when my son in law received a paper that asked us to donate blood for Gor. I went into the operating room, because I have the same blood type as Gor. The doctors told me I wasn't allowed in there and that I had to go to the blood transfusion’s center. I realized there was no one left in the operating room and that everybody was avoiding me. I went in, but Gor wasn't there anymore. He had been transferred to intensive care. I went there, but I wasn't allowed to get in. Then I heard my husband screaming. His body was lying on the operating table. My husband was crying and screaming, holding his head in one hand. Half of his body was still warm, the other half, cold.

The problem is that those capsules didn't explode at the moment they were unleashed, but they entered the people's bodies and exploded in there, Samuel Nikoyan tells me. They should've exploded after they were released and spread tear gas through the air. But the capsules entered the bodies.

How did the 10 people die? Who where they?

Samuel Nikoyan: All of them were men. Two soldiers, one shot, the other one dead from the wounds caused by a grenade explosion. There were 35 people wounded by shrapnel. Among the dead there were also five recruits, three from the gas capsules, two from the grenade explosion, another one shot and one from a hit in the head. Other cases couldn't be investigated, because the shells remained in the bodies and we couldn't bring in a verdict, not being able to identify the guns they where shot from.

Did Gor die from his leg wounds?

I was told he died from a haemorrhage, that one of his main arteries had been sectioned and caused his death, remembered Azatuhi. During the surgery, my brother was shown a piece of plastic extracted from his body, a remnant from a tear gas capsule. This was the problem that aggravated the operation. During the operation, the capsule exploded and the gas spread through the room, stopping the doctors’ activity. I think this was another obstacle in their saving my son. We wanted to take the clothes Gor had been wearing, in order to keep them, but they wouldn't give them to us. Although they knew very well how he had been wounded. The authorities speak of 10 dead, but I saw three dead people in that hospital with my own eyes and the wounded were being brought around-the-clock. They called me down many times to the Prosecution Office to testify as a witness, Sarkis Caloyan, Gor's father, intervenes.

Were there any witnesses that saw how Gor got wounded?

Sarkis Caloyan: No, but there is one who knows when he left home and where he went.

What was the official statement regarding the cause of his death?

Sarkis Caloyan: The Prosecution Office released a statement based on the testimonies of four of the policemen who shot tear gas at the crowd, but they made four victims, thus the policeman responsible for Gor's death cannot be identified because of the similarities of the weapons. Cheyromuchas is a gun that uses one gas capsule and they showed me how big it was. Inside the capsule there were 3 or 4 bullets, of which only three exploded and spread the gas, while the fourth one, unexploded, entered together with the capsule inside Gor's body and exploded during the operation.

Mister Nikoyan, the final report has a deadline. Will you keep to it?

Samuel Nikoyan: We haven't finished the investigations yet and we haven't finished the examination of all the evidence yet. We won't manage to finish by January 2009. We still have to examine one of the bodies. For this, we need the government’s support. The investigation of the cases regarding the deaths is not finished yet. There is another body that needs forensic examination, in order to find out the cause of death. Hence, the deadline of the report will be extended until all the evidence are examined. Three of the deaths were caused by tear gas capsules. The difficulty of the case resides in establishing the type of the firing weapon. If it was a normal weapon, it's hard to establish its origin and type and a final conclusion cannot be reached. Who is to blame: the policeman who fired the shot and didn't know that the weapon wouldn't function normally because it was old? The one who purchased the weapons? Or maybe the factory that manufactured those weapons? (The type of weapon has Russian origins, 23 mm model Cheryomukha-7M Bird cherryand Cheryomukha 7).

Is Gor's case closed or is it still under investigation?

Sarkis Caloyan: It hasn't got to court yet and it won't until the person who issued the order to open fire is established. The commission won't give out any result, Azatuhi intervened. Eight months have passed since my son, aged 28, left us. And nobody cares about that. I have no hope left that the case will be solved and I don't know what to expect any longer.

What would you like to happen? What are your expectancies?

I just wish the guilty one to be punished. As you see, he left two children behind. How will they live? Nobody cared. Their mother can't work, because she would have to leave them alone. Each of them receives a 20-dollar monthly allowance. Since Gor Died, our relatives who live abroad have been helping us. Nobody in the government cares about our lives. They didn't even say they were sorry. It's as if Gor wasn't a citizen of Armenia and nobody cares about him. We don't know what to do next. We are living a life without hope, Azatuhi says.

Who do you think is responsable for Gor's death?

Azatuhi Manukian: Gor would give a better answer to this question. He didn't have anything to gain from the elections. They couldn't have had any effect, either positive or negative, on our family. We are normal citizens and we would've lived the same, normal life after the events. But they changed our family's destiny forever. I don't know why I lost my son, nobody can answer this question for me.

If good or bad things happen in every country, the government should take responsibility, and Gor's case will be solved only if the government is changed, Sarkis Caloyan adds.

Gor's wife, Rozan Unanyan, aged 25, was sitting on an armchair, trying to calm down her youngest child's cry. She answered my questions with a sadly without further hopes for the future, that she finds it impossible to imagine.

The Opposition and the Commission

I met Samuel Nikoyan in his Parliament office, after several reschedules. He told me we knew each other, but I hadn't met him until that day. During our discussion, he showed me the ballistic reports of some of the cases under investigation, but I couldn't photocopy them. I saw the death record of a man who had been shot in the head with a tear gas capsule that left a huge hole in his cervix.

The Commission for the Investigation of March 1st Events is working with a group of American experts who will also issue a report after the investigations. During the investigations, the American experts encountered bureaucratic obstacles in accessing some information, because many documents being considered a matter of state secret, Samuel Nikoyan says. Those of us from the Armean Commission were confronted with the same problem. I understood that every commission has the same problems during investigation work, especially if the government is involved.

For example, we requested a document from the Prosecution Office, but they wouldn't give it to us, arguing that the case wasn't closed yet. Such obstacles delayed our investigative work. And I'm worried about that. Maybe they actually need time to study those documents and solve the cases before showing them to us.

Can you tell me what the documents you were talking about contain?

Samuel Nikoyan: They regard the case already made public, that of a cheek bone fragment found on the street. I asked the Prosecution to track its origin and find out why it was lying there. I invited a lot of experts, including doctors from various hospitals in Armenia to examine the cheek bone and find its origin. The first impression was that it came from a pig. The final result of this expertise is still being expected.

Where was the cheek bone found?

Samuel Nikoyan: It was found on the street, in a pool of blood. The cheek bone itself was never found, there is only a video recording. I called the operator who had filmed the scene for investigation, but he didn't want to show up. The Commission wanted to ask him where he had filmed the scene, because the location isn't clear in the recording. There's only a colse-up on the blood pool and on the cheek bone fragment. There are witnesses who claim it wasn't lying where the events took place and that is was filmed elsewhere. But it doesn't matter where it was filmed, the fact that it was passed out to the people is what really counts, causing resentment and the impression that the scene was part of the March 1st events. I find it important what people think, as the president of this commission. Because, sometimes, such pieces of untruthful evidence get to the crowd and you can't prove the contrary. Or you do it with great difficulty.

The opposition made a film about the events that took place on March 1st and March 2nd, which was passed out to the population. The documentary showed scenes with the armed police forces, the group who fired Chiromuchas weapons, wounded people receiving help from the protesters, being removed from the danger zone and taken to the cars, statements made by political leaders from both sides, the speeches given by the opposition leaders during the protest meetings. One scene shows that cheek bone fragment found on the street and the disfigured face of a protester who was missing a part of his cheek bone, examined by a medical specialist. This is the film Samuel Nikoyan is talking about.

It was also said that during the events there were not only 10 dead people, but more of them, around 78-80, and we can't prove to the population how things really happened. And, unfortunately, 10 deaths mean a great deal, even 1 death means a great deal. We don't need 11 deaths. The case of the cheekbone film in a pool of blood proves that there were in fact 11 deaths. That's what the opposition wants to prove. That's why we hurry to give a final conclusion to the examinations.

The commission is in a predicament. On one hand, it faces pressure from the American experts, on the other, there is an external pressure. We don't have support from the society, which is segregated, the political scene is divided and, whatever the result the commission showed, there will be two different interpretations, two different truths. Not everybody wants a minute investigation of the events, to know everything about what really happened. Because each and one of them would have to take responsibility for his share of the guilt. On one hand, the protest leaders, who organized and led the 10 days of illegal protests and instigated the population to acts of vandalism, telling the people they had to defend themselves, to bring in guns, to build up blocks. The police forces shared the guilt because of the violent attacks initiated on the morning of March 1st, instigating the protesters even more. And no one wants to know about this.

Mister Nikoyan, what sort of weapons did the policemen use?

Samuel Nikoyan: They used the arsenal specific to this sort of actions: rubber sticks, plastic shields, water cannons, tear gas and fire arms (personal pistols, automatic weapons, machine guns). There was also a sniper. These were the weapons used during the March 1st events.

You were talking about the grenades thrown by the protesters. Where did they get them from?

Samuel Nikoyan: The black market. The Nagorno Karabakh War left behind many unregistered weapons. Weapons that were then purchased on the black market and that the owners kept. (At the beginning of the war in Karabakh, the fight took place between organized crime groups supplied with weapons by different factions and organizations. After a while, the army stepped in, which hadn't been officially formed until 1991).

How was the political process influenced by these events, what is the message?

Samuel Nikoyan: Since March 1st, the Opposition has been struggling to keep up the fight, hoping they will succeed. They want a revolution, this is their main goal, and they call it the "music and dance revolution". That's what they call it, not me. If such protests were successful in Ukraine and Georgia, they won't succeed in Armenia either. One step at a time, the society is calming down. This cataclysm had the kind of impact that the lightning has on nature. The March 1st events made the government work normally, they made it stronger, consolidated its position and fortified the ties between government members. Now, nobody can say that the Armenian ministers are corrupted and that one of the ministers behaves inadequately. This is the result of the March 1st events. These events strengthened the presidential and governmental system. The Opposition is always on their backs.

The political process also faces international pressure. There are two type of pressure. A political one, based on the decisions and on the priorities of the great powers. And there is also the Council of Europe, being used as a weapon against some countries. I believe this is an organism created for the Opposition. But the entire country, together with all its structures, is a member in the Council of Europe, not only the Opposition. These obstacles must be overcome. Whatever the international pressure, if you don't have grounds for this, it won't have any effect.

Avetis Avakian

The 1st politician – Avetis Avakian, executive of Levon Ter-Petrosian, the first president of Armenia

Avetis Avakian was talking with Arsak Banouchyan in the ANM (Armenian National Movement Party) headquarters. They are discussing the details of organizing a protest meeting that was to take place in front of Matenadaran, on the 15th of September.

What is the reason for organizing these protests?

Avetis Avakian: We are facing a double situation: on one hand, we are building our structure, on the other hand, we are organizing protests. We have a few demands for the government, including the release of political prisoners, of our friends. At the time being, 59 political activists are imprisoned (at the time when the interview was maded were 74), some of them have been convicted, the others haven't. At first, 130 people were detained, but some of them gout out on parole. We've always pleaded for decisions that avoid any sort of conflict and we've done everything possible to find such solutions. We are prepared to negotiate with the government in order to find solutions, but only after our friends have been released from prison. And we request the discharge of political prisoners, the change of our political system, president Serj Sarksian' resignation and anticipatory elections.

Why does the Movement consider this regime to be a criminal one?

Avetis Avakian: We have lots of arguments to claim this and the most important and cruel example are the March 1st events, when the regime used weapons against unarmed people and, consequently, 10 people died. Though a investigation commission was created, nobody has been accused, investigated or charged till now, and there haven't been any convictions yet. This is only one example, only one episode, a horrific one. But there are others as well if we take into consideration the economical situation or the composition of our Parliament. Many of our leaders are criminals, with one or more convictions. We can also mention their attitude during the elections, when they used force and made threats, as methods of intimidation. They took the police into the polls to beat our representatives, removed them from the polls and stole the ballot boxes. That happened in almost every poll. Moreover, the killings of political personalities from the Opposition haven't been solved yet. Such examples can go on and on and nobody knows who holds the guilt.

How many protest meetings have been held by the Movement until now?

Avetis Avakian: Three protest meetings were held, but we requested approval for 80. We were rejected 80 times. Our protests are always unaggressive, non violent, we never broke any of the country's laws, we never made use of force, no car and no window were touched during our meetings.

Mister Nikoyan, are there still political prisoners left in Armenia? The Opposition confirms their existence.

Samuel Nikoyan: I'm not sharing the same opinion. As president of this commission, I would've preferred for other preventive measures to be taken. We have to understand that this situation was caused by political leaders. When somebody is shouting: "Don't be afraid, we have to win, he is our president (Levon Ter-Petrosian) and not the other one, we will definitely win" in front of 10.000 people, instigating the population, he has to be accountable for his actions. And for such actions, criminal liability is legally provided. They are indeed political leaders. But I am also a politician and if I say let's get together 10.000, 20.000 people and I tell them that if we keep up the fight, we will gain the power in one month time, and I tell them this after the elections, what I really tell them is that change can be made only by force.

How many of them were arrested at first and how many are still in jail?

Samuel Nikoyan: All cases went to trial. Most of them got convicted. 20 lawsuits are in the pipeline and another 7 are expected to be opened.

The Government discussed a possible amnesty for political prisoners. What can you tell me about this?

Samuel Nikoyan: They haven't released an official statement, because amnesty has to be applied to all political prisoners. It's to early to talk about this.

I spent the day of September 12th, before the meeting, inside the Opposition. After a visit to the Armenian National Movement's headquarters, I descended to the basement of an old house, the meeting place of the Movement's youth wing, called "Hima" ("Now"). I assisted at the discussions and at the preparations for the distribution of fliers that announced the September 15th protest among the population and I followed them on the streets of Yerevan as they were handing them out. It was an entirely approved and legitimate action. Like the one that took place during the evening, when young “Hima” members announced the same protest, walking through the center of the capital with flags and megaphones. After a group of policemen managed to end the first manifestation, another one followed and ended up in acts of aggression, the confiscation of the fliers and the detention of two of the protesters, who were thrown into a police van. Fortunately, the two were released after a couple of hours, without signs of physical abuse. It wouldn't have been something unusual. One of them, Narek Hovakimyan had been detained and brutally beaten lots of times before for taking part in such actions.

Arshak Banouchyan

A former political prisoner – Arshak Banouchyan, Deputy Director of the Matenadaran Manuscript Institute and Museum At the time of the interview, Arshak Banouchyan was still under accusation and investigation, without the possibility of leaving the country, and his economic activity at the Matenadaran Institute was closely monitored. Since his release, Arshak had been called in by the police twice a week to give statements, and his relatives and colleagues had been asked questions regarding him and his activity. The authorities finally dropped the investigation and his prosecution file was closed on October 22nd 2008, for the lack of evidence. After the March 1st events, he was imprisoned for four months.

How was in prison?
I fought mentally, psychologically, living with the feeling that I had been forgotten by the authorities, because I hadn't been interrogated and judged since my arrest. I got into contact with the policemen and the judges only two times, when I was arrested and when I was released. On the other hand, I'm reliving the same feelings now, during the daily protests on the North Boulevard.
I had two more cell mates and we all took part in the daily protest movement around our cell table. I spent my time reading, writing and waiting patiently for all this to end.
What were the charges against you?
I was charged of organizing and participating in the destabilization of public order, because I had talked to the protesters and asked the people and the intellectuals to take part in the protest. The second accusation was for electoral bribe in favor of Levon Ter-Petrosian. After my release, another accusation came up, that of economic fraud, as a deputy director of the Matenadaran Institute.
What were your political activities before the elections and what are the current ones?
I'm a member of the Armenian National Congress and I support the Movement's youth wing on administrative and logistic issues, organizing seminars, communication sessions, meetings with various politicians and journalists. Right now, the Movement isn't very strong, because many of the Opposition leaders are imprisoned and our actions are now based only on the daily political march on the North Boulevard and meetings. Our purpose is to strengthen the Movement. But now I am free to choose the time and place I will make concrete things happen.
You are not a member of any political party. Why did you decide to take part in these political ctions?
I always was a very active citizen. I did everything I could for the society, I was some kind of social worker. I got involved in this political movement because of its importance, it somehow absorbed me. I've never been a politician until now, I worked as a proxy during the elections and my work was very efficient for the Opposition. The government didn't forgive me for this. I'm a politician because the government made me a politician by arresting me.
You are a voice. You are a politician, although you don't want that, you are the voice of your ideas. Will you become a member of a political party?
Now? Most certainly not. And I don't think I ever will. The fact that I'm not a member of any political party doesn't mean I don't have political ideas. And the fact that I'm not affiliated to a political party gives me the chance to better communicate with people and with other politicians. I became a member of the Armenian National Congress, which is a political movement, not a party, a week after I was released. But I'm not a politician in the traditional way, because I don't ask for any kind of political power. I'm just helping the Movement supporters in gaining their goals and carrying out their projects. I just want to be an example.
I can say that the Armenian citizens changed after the March 1st and the September events (when the election process started), a change you usually see in 30 or 40 years. In this point of view, the Opposition did a good work. Our society's motto is no longer based on the economic issue, the people don't ask for water and electricity anymore. The society is now requesting constitutional order, freedom, independence, democracy. And all these violent measures taken nowadays by the police against the population will be soon forgotten, without any thoughts of revenge. This can't be applied to the whole world, but most part of our society has changed.
Why do you think the society has changed its way of thinking?
Because of the March 1st events, which revived the feeling of vengeance and justice and because of the National Movement, who suffered along the citizens during the events. And because Levon Ter-Petrosian's staying in the square until the end, until he was arrested and taken by force, changed the people's perception and raised their believe in the Opposition leaders. And we're not talking about the behavior of a political candidate during the elections, but of a normal citizen's.
When did the people start to request their constitutional rights?
There's a big difference between the actual political process and the past one, from the beginning of the 90s, when political leaders solved the short-term problems, without removing the cause. Of all the political leaders, Levon Ter-Petrosian left the biggest mark upon the society through his actions and his speech, which was a dialogue between him and the citizens. The people don't agree with some of his ideas, but they still see him as a political leader and they continue to follow him. One of the Opposition's advantages is its sincerity, the fact that its political leaders don't sell illusions to the people, but they present them the reality. This is not a fight for popularity, but one for showing people the reality we live in. The only "lie" we could tell to the people is to remain quiet.
How do you see the future?
When the time comes, everything will be all right. And this will be possible when people stop being against someone else and they start to believe in something. The idea of having a goal prepares them to enter the doors of heaven. Not many of my colleagues share this idea and somehow they are right, because the political situation may become rough and ask for radicalism from the people. We have to be prepared for this, because the time of change is not that clear, we may change everything in one day or in one year. We just have to wait for the right time and the right oportunity. I'm not a prophet, of course, to know what will happen, but I definitely know it will happen. This concept comes from Mahatma Gandhi's ideology. We have to convince the people, we have to enlarge our Movement and be patient. And we have to work for this every day. Waiting means working, and the more we work, the closer we get to that day. Each and one of us has to take part in political activities, because, that way, they can understand how the government works, how some views contradict themselves, how walls that divide the society are built, and they can decide for themselves what's right and what idea to follow.
On the other hand, by taking part in political activities, society would help create new leaders. Even though we lost the elections, new leaders were created during the election process, the National Movement created a new class of politicians that are now fighting for social rights. Even if this means starting a revolution. A revolution is not the best option, even a political regime changes traditionally through a revolution. Every revolution implies many victims and it always brings destruction instead of creating things. And the main goal of the National Movement isn't to change the government, but some of the authorities. The goal is to build a civil society.
Changing the government won't bring an entirely positive change. There would be an entire process of creating and implementing a new democratic political scene, based on the respect for constitutional rights and on the change in the way of thinking of the society and the whole governing system. If there is a chance of changing the government after the next elections, it has to be a peaceful one, and if we won't succeed, it will mean it's not the proper time for this change to be made and that we will have to work on the collective mentality, in order for them to understand and actually want such a change. We are not against confrontation, but we are against violence. This is my motto. And this fight has to be legal, because otherwise it would be a criminal action and we would be the same as this criminal government. And a criminal government will lose the fight.

Aram Manukyan

The voice that read the Declaration of Independence of democratic Armenia, Aram Manukyan, forced to hide I talked with Aram on a bench on the North Boulevard, during the daily protest march. I knew he wouldn't miss this event. It is a moment when those who believe in change meet and become a single voice against a system that tries to lock up their ideals. It is a breath of fresh air for the political prisoners, who know that society hasn't abandoned them in prison. It is the hope that gives the young a reason to fight for a democratic Armenia. During our conversation, the protesters had surrounded the police forces, popping inflated condoms and chanting for the release of the political prisoners, for liberty and for changing the government. Aram was very good-humored and made jokes with those who came to him to salute him. That day he had his wedding anniversary and he had left his guests back at home for two hours in order to attend the protest march. Aram Manukyan spent three months in the woods and in all this time he only met one friend.

I remained hidden for six months, until August 23rd, the day I first read the Armenian Declaration of Independence in the Parliament. As one of the co-authors of the Declaration of Independence, I couldn't miss this celebration day. Knowing that representatives of the Monitoring Commission would also be present that day and that there wouldn't be any arrests, I decided to show up in public. I had also received the information that the National Security Service had ended my legal pursuit. And I was already tired.
In 1990, when I wrote the Declaration of Independence, I was the youngest deputy in the Parliament (33 years old) representing the Panarmenian Movement. Given the current political situation, my family and my friends are like a second test to me. Besides God, freedom, my country and its independence are the most important things for me.
What does it mean living now in Armenia for you? How is your life?
Aram Manukyan: My life in Armenia is very risky, very interesting and very hard. My children always distract me from the activities I would like to have, because I'm responsible for their safety. They are in my way. But my goal is far more important than other things and than the elements that distract me, they somehow come on the second place. Many of those who take part in the daily march on the North Boulevard take a great risk and expose their families.
Why do you think the government chose "to keep" the political prisoners in jail?
Aram Manukyan: This proves that it is a very weak government. A strong one wouldn't do such a thing. And because of their mistake, by keeping the political leaders imprisoned, the Movement grows stronger and stronger. And even if the ruling power is trying to put more pressure on us by various means, this only increases the number of those who join the Movement. Even if they make use of army and police forces to intimidate us, they are essentially very weak and that motivates us even more.
What determines you to fight for justice, for the things you believe in, for freedom?
Aram Manukyan: I've always felt I had to fight for the things I believe in. And before Armenia declared its independence, I swore to my friends, to my family and to those who died during the war that I would fight until the last day of my life for the freedom and independence of Armenia.
How do you see the future?
Aram Manukyan: Unfortunately, the fight seems to be blocked. As a diplomat, I think that in order to get positive results, in order to have democracy and a civil society, the Opposition's actions, of those who want to see a change should be more frequent and obvious. As well as the external pressure. I'm convinced that if our people managed to keep up the fight for seven months, they would still do, and this would force the government make more mistakes and would attract the international community's attention on the political situation in Armenia even more. The will of the society plays the greatest part in this fight. All successful revolutions depend on the masses, on the number of people who embrace the idea of change and time, on the timing, on its length of time, on the degree of involvement from the international institutions and on the mistakes made by the ruling power as a result of the pressure we hope for.

Davit Matevosian

The political prisoner
Davit Matevosian
Born in 1960
Imprisoned in Vardashen high security facility
This interview was possible thanks to his son, who mediated our discussion. Davit Matevosian's hand written papers, which contain the answers to my questions, were brought to me by his cell mate's wife.

How did you begin your political activity?
Davit Matevosian: I started my political activity at the same time the Karabakh Movement was born, which was a national liberation movement. Back then I didn't consider myself a politician and not even now I consider myself as such. I'm only a simple citizen who feels responsible for the society he is living in.
Tell me about the political events that followed the elections and about March 1st.
Introduction

Due to our government's "efforts", an elective system that wasn't within the Armenian electoral legislation and Constitution. Of course, from the outside, this system is similar to the European democratic one, but it's really a criminal and immoral process. And this criminal process is, of course, controlled up to the highest level by this totalitarian regime. Fortunately, among the citizens of Armenia there are also people prone to democracy, who see the possibility of a political change only through presidential elections.
Post-election events

The day after the elections, a vast number of people gathered in the Liberty Square for a protest meeting that had been announced at the last moment. This probably happened especially because of the preliminary voting results, which certainly didn't satisfy the citizens. Supporting Levin Ter-Petrosian and shouting "Hima! Hima! ("Now! Mow!"), the protesters were requesting for the fight to go on. That's how the meeting started, a legal meeting and within the law. Te crowd that was gathering in the Liberty Square decided to avoid any form of violence and radical action. The people remained in the square for days, in a continuous protest, spread even on the secondary streets approved for the meeting. With each day, the crowd got larger and larger.
Wanting to put an end to the meeting, the government started a series of criminal actions against the protesters, especially against the leaders, searching their houses, confiscating their personal cars and detaining activists. Therefore, until February 26th, 12 activists had already been arrested, along with the Deputy Prosecutor General, who had publicly denied the government's criminal actions during and after the elections.
As a counter-balance of the February 26th meeting, the government organized another meeting in the Republic Square to prove its popularity and support among the population. But the crowd was gathered by force and, consequently, the participants started boycotting the meeting, finally joining the protesters in the Liberty Square. This came in as a shock for the government. Meanwhile, Levon Ter-Petrosian handed in a litigation note to the Constitutional Court against the public voting results approved by the Central Election Commission. The protesters were expected to remain in Liberty Square until the Constitutional Court of Armenia made a public decision.
On the same day, the meeting between Robert Kocharian and the Yerevan State University students was broadcast on television. Kocharian condemned the Opposition's actions, saying that either the protest ends by itself, or the special forces would stop it.

The March 1st Events
On March 1st, Kocharian's "Plan B" was put into practice. Before daybreak, the special troops, comprised of hundreds of men in uniform, specially equipped, surrounded the Liberty Square, heading towards the protesters. Levon Ter-Petrosian shouted into the megaphone, telling the protesters to avoid any acts of violence. Ter-Petrosian was silenced by force, his megaphone was confiscated. The protesters were violently dispersed by the rubber police sticks and the tents they were staying in for two days were destroyed. They used tear gas and electroshocks against me. I saw two wounded protesters. One of them, a woman, was lying on the ground. I helped her get up, she told me she was able to walk and then drew away with a limp. The other one was a man with a bleeding head wound whom I sent to the hospital by taxi.
How does the Prosecution justify for your detention?
Davit Matevosian: During the first month, I was detained for having disobeyed a police order, for resistance and infliction of bodily harm brought to a police agent. All this time, the accusers couldn't prove this accusation and a new one was "created", one that was applied to all the protesters detained on the morning of March 1st. It is important for me to mention that each and one of us were arrested in different places, far from the Liberty Square, the police having taken the decision to arrest all the protesters after they were dispersed. The new accusation sounds like this: resistance to the arrest and during the way to the police station, without causing harm (verbal resistance, especially curses, threats or pinches).
In my case, they stated I had hit a policeman on the hand and he had felt a short pain in his arm, though he couldn't remember exactly which hand he was talking about. However, the Court decided to give me a three-years sentence, based on the testimonies of the two police officers that arrested me, that took me to the police station, frisked me, questioned me and took care of the other legal measures. In the official report of my arrest, written on the morning of March 1st, they didn't mention anything about my having resisted arrest. And according to the Armenian law, the policeman who took care of the legal measures can't be a witness in the same file and can't issue a statement.
The Trial Court and the Court of Appeal ignored this and refused to file the testimonies of other two citizens arrested at the same time, who witnessed my detention. They made an official appeal through my lawyer for their testimonies to be filed, but their request was denied. I see the justice system in Armenia as a servant for the government who carries out any political command and any given task.
What changes do you expect in the near future?
Davit Matevosian: We have an anti-democratic government, which is only interested in personal gains and which treats its citizens like slaves. A criminal regime has been created, one full of oligarchs. And the oligarchs represent that part of society that solves everything up with money and force. This is the tool used by the government to solve internal problems in Armenia, even during the elections. Beside this, we have a monopolized economy. A radical social polarization, we have anarchy and a population completely ignored. And, of course, we have a fictional democracy and the elusory will of the government to solve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. On one hand, we have an authoritarian regime who managed to extend its existence for a while organizing the bloody events on March 1st. And on the other hand, we have the National Movement, a democracy embryo that is developing through the Armenian National Congress, that stands for democracy in Armenia. And I see how the international community has started to view the situation. I am sure that, in the near future, the Armenian citizens will become the rulers of Armenia.
What are your plans after you release?
Davit Matevosian: For me and for many others, this movement is a fight for an European political model of democracy and at the same time one against a system like "Han" Asian system. Out of the will to prevent any misshaping of this goal and its changing into a fight that aims to change an elite whose only interest is following their corporate interests, a few citizens in my generation, including me, published a brochure entitled “The Alternative”, which contains an important principle: “during this fight, each of us needs to be capable of changing his wish to become first in line with the acceptance of being the last in line”. Being imprisoned doesn’t mean this is the end for me. Surely, after my release, I will continue the fight for the same principles and for the same purpose. I think that the activists in my generation are capable of setting up the grounds for a civil society in Armenia, as a continuous and irreversible process.

The wife of the political prisoner, Alexander Arzumanyan, Melissa Brown

Melissa is 45 years old and she lives in Armenia for 12 years now (since 1996). She was living in New York, and she met her husband Alik, at that time a United Nations ambassador, in 1991. They moved to Armenia when their first son was born. She teaches English and pedagogy at the American University in Yerevan.

Alexander Arzumanyan is a mathematician. He was deeply involved in the 1991 Movement for Independence and he was the first spokesman for Levon Ter-Petrosian. He then became UN ambassador, and he resigned in 1998 together with Levon Ter-Petrosian. He continued to be involved in politics ever since, he is member of the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (founded in 2002) and president of the Armeninan National Movement. As a member of this commission, my husband was harshly criticized. In 2007, he founded the Civil Movement and he was arrested in the same year for his political activities, the official indictment being money laundering. He spent five years in prison. He was released and Levon Ter-Petrosian announced his candidacy for the presidential elections thus Alexander participated in his electoral campaign.

“I have been on the streets in each of the ten days, I saw what happened”, says Melissa. There were ten days of peaceful demonstrations that had a bloody outcome. I was unable to keep in touch with my husband but I was on the streets all the time and I lived the events that took place in front of the French Embassy. The Government literally ended these demonstrations in a brutal manner and threw our husbands in jail.

When was Alik arrested?

On March 10th. He began to hide on March 1st, at first in an apartment in Yerevan, not even I knew exactly where he was. All those arrested are respectable in society. They were apprehended in a humiliating way, they were hurtled down, their hands were tied, they were beaten up, just to serve as example. At that moment my husband was together with Ararat Zurabyan (board chairman of the Armenian National Movement), and the police or the KGB had the order to humiliate them and to photograph them in undignified postures.

How was it for you to live in that situation?

Terrible, of course. I had given America up. I have lived in the 1970s, the Soviet years, under the communist threat with the feeling that we would annihilate each other, that we would go through a nuclear war and I was listening to the stories told by those who escaped from the communist countries. As a drama school student I had Liviu Ciulei as a professor (romanian film director) , and he used to tell us about how life used to be there. It was wonderful when the Soviet regime caved in and the borders started to open. We began to travel and learn about these countries, from people who lived in ex-Soviet regime. This is how we began to understand something about what it used to be there. I met my husband later, and he told me in detail how life in the Soviet society was.

After the independence was gained in Armenia there were a lot of promises we believed in, the atmosphere was extraordinary. Now this country has become a dictatorial state. Last year I saw and felt all that was good and bad in people. I saw much hope and confidence and at the same time much deceit and misery. All the trials of our husbands are fabricated, the witnesses lie, the judges are corrupted, the prosecutors follow the orders coming from above, and when I say <> I don’t just mean the presidency but also the oligarchic groups and the murderers who rule this country. In this sense, it’s horrible to be part of all of this.

However, the movement of the people, the fact that they gather to protest and demand the discharge of the political prisoners is extraordinary and gives us hope. The people in the Diaspora have no idea what is happening and they need to find out. The number of people that are still hiding is unknown. 74 political prisoners are still incarcerated. People have lost their jobs because of their political beliefs, others have lost their businesses, many professors have been fired from the State University and many students have been expelled.

I work in an American university. I do not talk politics with my students but I do encourage them to have their own opinions.

How much time do you believe your husband will spend in prison?

Seven persons are indicted. My husband has not been convicted yet. The charges he faces are ridiculous. They are accused of orchestrating the 1st of March events, of organizing mass disorder and of usurping state power. The phones of all those who were arrested have been taped, and the transcripts have been published in the press in a literal campaign against us. My husband managed to get in possession of his file and said that the prosecutors cannot win based on the charges brought so far, if the trial is fair. If they accuse him of money laundering and bring false evidence he can spend up to 30 or 40 years in prison. But I hope it won’t come to this. This kind of trial can take years and it’s not normal that he is kept in prison before all the documents are examined.

It’s strange that although everyone in Armenia knows that these people are “good guys”, that they fight for democracy they still act like in Stalin’s era.

Alexander Arzumanyan, Grigor Voskerchyan, Suren Sirunyan, Shant Harutiunyan and NA MPs Hakob Hakobyan, Miasnik Malkhasyan and Sasun Mikaielyan are charged with calls for mass disorder and power usurpation / instigation and organization of mass disturbances. Miasnik Malkhasyan is also indicted for resistance against policemen and Sasun Mikaielyan, for carrying illegal weapons. Their trial is very controversial and there are reactions from the Diaspora and from the population that supports them through demonstrations. Mass-media had no access at the beginning in the courtroom and the hearings are adjourned based on ridiculous motives.

Are you allowed to visit Alik?

Yes I am, twice a month. Alek is well, as well as a person can be in prison. There were times he had looked better, but he is fine.

What kind of activities do you organize together with the wives of the other political prisoners?

First of all, there is the daily protest march on the North Boulevard. Then there are a press articles, meetings with representatives of the European Commission and human rights organizations during which there are talks about political issues but in a humanistic tone. We did not expect the trial to take so long and this is why having understood that it is a long term procedure we started to organize, to form some sort of structure to raise funds in order to continue our activities. It would be wonderful if we could travel, if we could be present whenever there are hearings at the European Council or at the International Parliamentary Assembly. We have a problem with visas. I am an American citizen, therefore I don’t confront with this issue but it’s not the same in the case of the wives of the other detainees. I’ve recently been to Washington DC to visit my family and there I have met with Congress representatives and I told them about the situation in Armenia. We are trying to tell people what is happening through any means possible.

Human rights are severely broken in Armenia, and President Serj Sarksian is trying to distract the world’s attention from this and to hide the fact that there are political prisoners.

Why haven’t you left Armenia?

When I first came here, I was missing my parents and friends very much but then I understood that this is the home of my husband and he wants to live here. In the meantime, I made friends; I have my students that I have watched evolve and kept in touch with. I realized that my influence upon them is great because of my teaching methods, much different from the soviet one still practiced in schools. This brings me great joy. I have found my place here and if I left I would fell that I was betraying those who are close to me. I do not want to leave. I like it here.

My oldest son is 12 and he is very much into life in Armenia. He compares the life he has here with life in Tibet, Darfur or Myanmar. He thinks in a very simplistic way that the good are in prison and the bad are ruling, but he understands everything that is happening around him.

I joined Melissa and the other wives of political prisoners at the 25th protest of the wives of political prisoners that took place in front of the General Prosecutor’s Office. Melissa, getting angry after handing in the petition:

According to the law when you file a petition to the Prosecutor’s Office, you are to receive an answer within a month. It is the 25th petition we have filed so far and we have not received any answer yet. We filed the first one in on the 7th of April, six months ago and we rally weekly in front of the General Prosecutor’s Office ever since. The woman in charge with receiving the petitions always says the same thing: that she is not the one entitled to give an answer but the

investigating authorities.

Politician No. 2

David Shahnazaryan, the former Minister of National Security of the Republic of Armenia, one of the founding members of the Armenian National Movement Party.

What do you think people have to do for changing the poltitical situation created after March 1 2008 events?

We have to be conscious and to analyze the political situation and that we should not make any mistakes like this government, this totalitarian regime makes. On March 1st, innocent people that had nothing to do with the manifestation were injured and killed one or two kilometers away from the demonstration. Hence this is out fight for freedom and I have no doubt that we will soon bring back democracy to Armenia, that we will regain our independence, that human rights will be respected and that we will have a civilized country. Other former soviet states went through this too. We must live through this too. We have already done that at the end of the 1980s when the first independence movement was founded in Armenia after the fall of the Soviet system. We gained our independence then. Now we need freedom in Armenia.

What are your thoughts about the future of Armenian youth, taking into consideration that they don’t want to live in this political context and they want to leave the country?

Only a few want to leave the country, not very many. Obviously, there are some young, disappointed people who believe there are no chances for democracy in Armenia in the near future. Unfortunately, there is this sort of mentality. However, I do believe we will have democracy in Armenia and this is because the society is divided. There is a part of society that stands united on the one hand and a criminal government on the other hand. When I say government, I mean all the branches of power: the Parliament, the legislative power and the executive power. It is for the first time in our history when people are fighting for democracy, human rights and freedom. Along our history, the Armenian people fought for so-called historical justice: the admission of genocide and for the national values. For the first time our society fights for the right to have civil society and for equity for the people. This is a new dimension of thought. Society has changed and within this system, it is impossible for this corrupted, totalitarian government to further exist.

What should be done in order to change this regime?

Everything our Movement does must be in conformity with the law. Obeying the law, we can bring change. This is why this movement exists, will exist and will develop. The authorities are pushing us to break the law but we will stand out and we will keep our policies. There one more reason: we need a united civil society. It is impossible for such a corrupted government to exist in this part of the world in the 21st century. Hence, I have no doubt that we will have a free and democratic Armenia.

The wife of the political leader forced to go into hiding

Suzana Alexanyan – 44 years old

She is married to Michael Hairapetyan for 22 years.

She teaches Armenian language and literature.

Michael Hairapetyan is a university professor, philologist and publicist. He started the newspapers “Defender of the Country” - “Ierkrapah” and “The Days” – “Orer”. He was the editor-in-chief of both publications.

Following the events on 27th of October 1999 when MPs were murdered during a meeting that was taking place in the House of Parliament, Michael Hairapetyan gave up writing and kept only his teaching position.

It was not enough. He considered himself a political figure and was always part of the opposition. Even now when he is on the side of Levon Ter-Petrosian he represents the opposition within the opposition.

In the course of Ter-Petrosian’s mandate, Michael was with him in the beginning, but after the government was established, he began to notice the internal irregularities and he began opposing its practices, says Suzana during the conversation we had in her apartment.

Michael Hairapetyan was president of the education department under the Ministry of Education, then leading expert for the Ministry of Defense during the governance of Vasken Sarksyan (former prime minister, murdered in the events on 27th of October 1999 in the Armenian House of Parliament).

If there is something Michael does not agree with, he opposes, it’s impossible for him to be indifferent. He published a series of press articles critical of Levon Ter-Petrosian and the government he headed. He was threatened, beaten up and his typography was set on fire during those years.

Michael worked as a professor at the Technical University. Ten days after the elections, on the 26th or the 27th of February, he decided, along with the students to go on strike to protest against the result of the elections and he stopped going to the university from that moment. He went into hiding as of March 1, upon the insistences of his friends.

As of March 3, the special forces (KGB) began ransacking our home for several days. They found nothing. They took a knife, a cut pappier, which they returned only after the intervention of the US ambassador. That object was a gift from a cousin that lives in the US and it is a decorative object not a weapon as they insinuated. The stamps belonging to the Conservative Party and to its youth organization were seized, and they kept them for two months, without drawing up the relevant minutes. Who knows what they were used for? Suzana wonders.

The Conservative Party of Armenia was founded in 1991. The one who created it was killed in the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, and after his death Michael became president. The Conservative Party is now affiliated to the Armenian National Congress.

On March 1st Michael was in proximity of the Opera House when a group of friends convinced him to go away. The motive of their concern was a video tape Michael had made during the elections. He was working in the region of Sirak with Andranik Hovanesyan who died while he was hiding from state’s bodies of power and with Bedros Makyan who is now in prison and they filmed representatives of the Government bribing the people to vote for them. They wanted to send the tape to the police as evidence of electoral fraud. He did not go into hiding not because he was afraid or because we was cowardly but because he wanted to see what would happen following the broadcasting of their tape. He decided to leave with his friends for 2 or 3 days and wait for things to return to normal.

As of March 3, the special forces looked for him at his domicile for six days, continuing to keep guard in front of the building. It is not known what happened to that movie.

The negative side of this is that he could not continue his work at the university he had never been absent from, Suzana tells me with sadness.

Michael has not returned home since March 1st. Even his wife is afraid to contact him. The telephones are intercepted, and so are the internet connections. Suzana does not want to be responsible if he is caught. She cannot make a living out of her salary but her relatives help her.

Michael’s daughter is a psychology student. She suffers so much for the political prisoners, for those who are jailed and for their wives that she does not even dare to complain about this predicament.

Even if they find it hard, they are used to not having Michael at home because since he is so involved into politics, he would frequently be away. It is hard for them now because they have no news from him. They know from his friends that Michael is well.

What are your activities as wife of a political activist?

Besides taking part in the daily march of protest on the North Boulevard, I also attend the protest organized every Friday in front of the General Prosecutor’s Office, when we file a petition to the General Prosecutor demand that the political prisoners to be liberated and that the charges against them to be dropped. There is also the protest in front of the Council of Europe every time a foreign delegation pays an official visit.

Has anything changed so far?

Nothing changed.

Are you afraid?

No.

His daughter, Hasmic Hairapetyan is 21 years old. She is used not to having her father around. He was always late at night and she would be already asleep when he arrived at home. She has befriended those whose fathers are hiding and who have got ill because they know nothing about their parents. Because she is used to this situation, she is more concerned about her friends than about herself. She is older than the other children and thus she understands that it is not safe for her father to return home.

In the course of the inquisitions, we “helped” the agents in their search to make sure that they did not “plant” anything else in the house, like drugs, guns, or microphones, Hasmic recounts giggling. We would even tell them where to look.

Should Michael show up tomorrow, what do you think would happen to him?

He would be arrested, says Suzana. The General Prosecutor said: “Let him show up and we shall see. I’ll personally tell him what we have against him”.

I have the feeling that this will last forever. Every time I walk on the North Boulevard I gain hope. Afterwards, I come home and think that nothing has changed and nothing will ever change.

The hidden politician or the thorn in the flesh of the establishment

I postponed my return home in order to meet Michael. I was not convinced that he would accept that or that I would get to talk to him. Before the confirmation of my appointment with Michael, I was asked to have a short meeting with one of his intimates, to be convinced I am trustworthy. Without references coming from his friends, I would not have been able to meet him. Afterwards, a great burden laid on me. I wondered whether my presence could harm the ones I met with.

My meeting with Michael had to be delayed because of his health condition. Because he could not get off the bed, he asked me to give him a few days until he would be fit enough to attend our meeting.

On the agreed date, I met with my translator and with his contact person in a dark location in downtown Yerevan. That evening, on the North Boulevard the police was scattering by force the protesters taking part in the daily march. It was not a scene out of the ordinary. We had encircled the courtyard three times before the first car showed up. We changed three cars before getting to the destination and we wandered for an hour in the outskirts of the city. We switched our telephones off and we took the batteries out. I complied because I did not want to be the cause of Michael’s capture. There were cases when fugitives were caught because of the ones who wanted to meet with them.

Michael was waiting for us with a smile on his face, in an apartment under reconstruction that belonged to some friends of his. He was watching cursing through his teeth the Armenian president’s address on the opening of the academic year.

Obviously ill, breathing with difficulty and smoking heavily, Michael enjoyed the moment of our meeting, being thankful that I gave him the opportunity to put on his shoes after six months.

Michael Hairapetyan

For how long have you been hiding?

Since the morning of March 1st.

Why? What are your actions prior to the elections that forced you to hide? Was the movie you shot during the elections the reason why you decided to go into hiding? Were there other motives ass well?

I know this Government very well, and I know what it is capable of. The movie is the reason why I decided to hide. I was in the Opera Square; I got surrounded by policemen that threatened me, so in the morning of March 1st, I left. Another reason was that I had also lead a series of demonstrations. Five of the demonstrations organized during the ten days of protests were lead by me. At a certain point, I lost my voice and someone took my place. Nevertheless, I have never directly attacked anyone in the Government in any of my speeches. For me, it is a political battle, not a personal one. The only attacks were directed against the KGB. I had to do with them in the time of communist; when I was 18, I was arrested for the first time, and they kept me in custody for three months. I am thus certain that the present situation of Armenia is only due to the KGB and its actions, not only here, but also in the entire Caucasus region. Last year, there were a series of anti-KGB protests, and then I furiously attacked them and the actions of Putin whom I called a KGB agent. Luckily, the Western countries had understood that this group is not dead and they noticed the presence of the KGB during the war in Georgia and thus realized they cannot thrust these people.

I decided to give you this interview especially for this reason; to let everyone know that KGB still exists and because I am intrigued that the West still accepts calmly and carelessly the existence of the KGB, here and in other places, even 20 years after the fall of the Soviet empire. Unfortunately, the president we now have was formed in the structures of KGB. And so was the one before him. In other conditions, we might have had the chance to develop as a normal country in a democratic direction, due to our Christian cultural and religious roots. Nowadays we are simply a country surrounded by Islamic states and ruled by the KGB. I consider that the Western states are to blame for this situation, because it is their responsibility too. (In the same way they collaborate with the terrorist, they can also do it with KGB’s structures sometimes.) The West should also have organized a campaign against the soviet KGB, as they did against terrorism.

There is a sign of equality between fascism and communism. If we take a glance at the actual political structures, we can see that they consist only of former communists, or even worse, former communists that are KGB agents too.

When did you start your fight against this regime and what determined you to do this?

I started to fight against the Communist regime in my second year of college. I was help up and interrogated by a KGB major, who is now a judge and who is in charge with the investigation of the files for the ones arrested after the events on the 1st of March. The same guy that served the Communist regime in those times, now serves the interests of Armenia and speaks in the name of the country, and also in the name of democracy and justice. It is the same person that ordered the special forces to search my home. Hence, after 20 years, the Soviet structures still have not disappeared from this country. Russia proved this one more in Georgia. No normal human being would kill ten people on the streets. This is something only the communist Kochearian, supported by the provincial communist Serj Sarkisian, could do.

During the interview, someone in the house received a phone call through which he was announced that while the daily march on the North Boulevard was taking place, the police aggressed the people. This is how Michael reacted:

Actually, I am glad this is happening. I have voted for Levon Ter-Petrosian neither in 1990, nor in 1996. When he became president, he named Kaghig Harutunia -, a former communist who is now the president of the Constitutional Court and who signed the decree for the investiture of Serj Sarkisian as president of Armenia - as vice-president while state of emergency was declared. This shows that there is a form of historical justice. If we could sign a new deal with our own conscience, history could judge and castigate us. In the 300 years of existence, all the tragedies and all the negative social changes Armenia went through have been related to Russia. In all this period I have been hiding, I have written a 780 pages long scientific essay and, if I would publish it, Armenia could finally understand that the cause of all its tragedies is Russia, especially communist Russia. I think I would do something good for this country.

When did you discover that the KGB held the power in Armenia?

In 1982, when Brezhnev died and Andropov came to power. When Levon Ter-Petrosian came to power, there were many demonstrations that asked him to open the archives of the KGB. As a highbrow intellectual who did not want to divide the society, Ter-Petrosian appealed to the human feeling, saying that former KGB agents had children who could be affected by the publishing of the archives. The reason why the Conservative Party is now part of the National Congress is that their priority is to persuade the following governance how important the opening of the archives is. Some of the files have been made public, some have not. Other files were taken to Russia in the beginning of the 1990s. I am convinced that some important files, that we are bound to study and publish, are still in Armenia. We should also make Russia give the files back. In Armenia, there are still officials, high-ranking politicians that are KGB spies. Thus, they don’t serve Armenia’s interests, but KGB’s. Had we not had this structure, we would have had the chance to be a normal, democratic country. But the ten days of peaceful demonstrations led by Levon Ter-Petrosian showed that we, as a nation with a Christian culture, have not died and that we still hope in the achievement of our goals that we are fighting for.

When do you expect this political situation to end? When shall this criminal power disappear?

I am a conservative and I do not want a revolution. It is the worst thing for a conservative. But a revolution of values could put an end to this regime. And if we are referring to the highest level, it shall happen when Russia will cease its domination over this region. But I fear that after Russia has left, a more dangerous power shall come. It could be dominated by the Islamic Iran or by Turkey. During the seven months since I’ve been hiding, I felt the greatest joy when I found out that 18 NATO military ships are on the Black Sea.

Why do you think Russia is interested in Armenia?

Russia is interested only from a geopolitical point of view. It needs an access way. If we look at the history of mankind, from the first war to the last one, everything was about the roads. And Russia is a power of the past. The same is with Russian leaders, Putin and Medvedev. They are not politicians, they are officials. That’s why Western countries are blocked, they don’t know how to address them, how to talk to them. They are bureaucrats and bureaucrats never make mistakes. Political figures try to find exit ways. If Serj Sarksian were a political figure, he would have found many exit ways by now. By he is only an official and Azerian official part of the middle class. If Hitler were only an official, what would have happened? In Armenia we have only one politician and unfortunately he is Levon Ter-Petrosian. And he is to blame for the fact that the country is in this situation.

Why do you say so?

If we have had, let’s say, 20 politicians, the situation would have been different. When Levon Ter-Petrosian convened the first Congress, I had the shortest discourse and I told a story. In Antique Rome, patricians went to war; plebeians took everything the latter had, their houses, their wives. When they came back, they wanted their assets back. Plebeians turned to arms responding that they wouldn’t return their goods and wives. The war between them took months. Then, a wise man told the patricians: “You can not fight against arms with arms, because they can do that as well. Take whips and straddle your horses. When they did so, plebeians dropped their arms, knelt immediately and bent their backs. Unfortunately, we, the only ones who could study the battle, could not continue the way we would have liked to. We do not use arms against their arms. But the arms we speak about is the changing of values and the war shall be the war of values. If we speak to the ones in power about morality, they won’t be capable of understanding.

What happened with the shot made during the elections? Was it published?

It was broadcasted on a TV channel from Gyumri named Gala which was subsequently closed. It is a two-minute shooting, showing the representatives of the ones in power blackmailing the people to vote for Serj Sarksian.

After the film was aired, members of the Conservative Party were held up by the KGB for declarations. Their main question was not “where is Michael hiding?”, but “why is Michael so rude? Why is he against us?” And this because they do not fight with the same arms, with arms against arms. Since the 1st of March I am permanently in touch with the members of the Conservative Party both from here and from other countries, even with the Pope and this due to Bill Gates (he laughed).

How was all this period for you?

It is the first time that I do not attend the opening of the academic year. For the first time in my life, I did not have a 1st of September. But I worked 18 hours a day on the book I hope to publish, I inquired about the situation of the political prisoners and I went on hunger strike together with them when they did so. I couldn’t physically participate at all the demonstrations, but I said a prayer at the beginning of every demonstrations. And this, because it has become a sort of tradition, during the 10 days of protest, to start the meetings with a prayer and Aram Manukyan told me at a certain point that it was a great tradition and that I should keep it up.

What do you think could happen to you, if the KGB apprehended you?

It will be very difficult for them to arrest me, became they have nothing to accuse me of. They can not formulate an accusation against me..

If you decided to return home tomorrow and continue your ordinary life, go to the university and so on, what do you could happen to you?

I won’t be arrested, I’d be accidentally hit by a car or shot. But only accidentally, because this way, they won’t need to give any explanations. I still bother them. They would love to forget about me, but I do not let them to and I still publish articles against them.

Where do you publish such articles?

Since the 1st of March I published 48 articles in a newspaper belonging to the Armenian community in the United States called “Armenian Times”. Nicol Pashinian is its editor-in-chief and he is as well hiding, bearing various accusations. I published the other articles in newspapers belonging to the opposition. This is the way I tease the nerves of the ones in power. I am still a teacher and I have to teach. I educate even Serj Sarksian who is using phrases from my articles during his speeches. I am a philologist and I am ashamed of Serj Sarksian’s performance. I am ashamed as well to tell that I am a university professor because all my colleagues are corrupt. I am ashamed to say that I am a philologist, because so is the idiot Serj Sarksian. Who am I? I do not know any more.

When will all this end?

Within a month, I guess. Or, I could bet that when you publish your article, there shall be war in Caucasus. And this regime shall fall. Levon Ter-Petrosian is a wise personality. When he gave up the power in 1998, he said in his final discourse: “A party of peace is leaving and a party of war shall come” The speed of this war depends on many things, the first is Iran’s schizophrenia with regard to the atomic bomb, the presidential elections in Azerbaidjan and the result of the elections in America. It is not accidental that there are NATO submarines in the Black See. Then, Serj Sarksian shall kill Robert Kochearian with his own hands. One can feel the breath of new wars. It is about Russia’s policy as well and its wars, and the Western countries are not very interested in overcoming such wars. Russia shall solve its problems and interests even if the price to be paid is the life of Georgians and Ossetians. Saakashvili is not exactly a politician and a diplomat. The West shall of course have a lot to win from this game, because Iran’s problem shall be solved, but it does not consider the price that shall be paid, the many innocent people who will die.

Aren’t you afraid to make such previsions?

So far I have not been mistaken when I made predictions. I might have been wrong with regard to the period or date but not with regard to the events. The worst part is that I cannot prevent the events I speak about. But the result shall be Russia’s withdrawal from this region and this is the price of liberty. You have seen the scene form the American movie. Two men, one old and one young, escape from the prison and are forced to pass through the sewerage dirty waters and shit. When the young guy, being up to the waist in the shit, complaints to his disgust, what the f…k smell is this, the old man says. “This is the smell of freedom, boy!”

Thus, we are now in that dirt, which we can even taste. We know the smell and taste of this liberty. The word “kiss” in Armenian language unites both smell and taste and if there is a kiss, it has both taste and smell.

Why do you think that all these political leaders and supporters of the opposition were arrested and imprisoned? In order to give a lesson or in order to frighten the ones in power?

Should it not have initiated the events of the March 1st, the present government would have lost power, it wouldn’t have won. We have questioned at the Constitutional Court the result of the elections. If they hadn’t declared the state of emergency, they would have lost the power. So they arrested most of the active politicians and they have forced others to hide, to disappear. Now we are in the position of not being able to win through legal means. We can not go on the same way. Levon Ter-Petrosian has chosen the most intelligent means of continuing the battle, establishing this Congress, reuniting all the opposition parties. Besides that, I have predicted that this Congress, the idea comes from the Congress created by Mahatma Gandhi, to which it resembles very much. And we have to win the power through other means that the one used by Serj Sarksian.

Why do you think people haven’t given up protest?

Why should they give up? It is true that they are bored. Sleeping is normal, it is organic. Now there is no chance of gathering 200,000 people with whom to march along. They do not want that. Now it’s time for us to sleep. Do you remember what Christ said in his last night? He said: “This is you day. Do what you please and do it fast.” This is Serj Sarksian’s day. Whatever he would like to do, he should do it fast. Our duty now, is to pray and to prevent the fire from dying out. If they sleep a bit, when they get up they shall smash the bones of power. When the sun rises, the demons shall disappear.

When I got to the apartment where I met Michael, he was watching Serj Sarkisian’s speech on TV and he was amusing himself terribly on Serj Sarkisian’s accent and on the fact that latter had “stolen” phrases from his articles. Personally, I have nothing against this man, I do not hate him, but I can’t help amusing myself when I listen to him and I’m glad to hear my ideas coming out of his mouth.

What was the phrase belonging to you uttered by Serj Sarksian?

The phrase sounds like this: “At the same time, I dream about the day when people stopped wishing for expensive cars, but they will want to have the ideals of the ones owning those expensive cars” and he quoted it in front of the students at the opening of the academic year. I cried when I heard the phrase, because it was the first time when I haven’t heard the bell ringing.

Why did you choose not to sleep?

I’d like to sleep. But the determination of staying awake is in my genes. I’d like to sleep, but I’m a fighter for justice. This is my cross and I have to bear it. Otherwise my children would judge me. I shall have time to sleep, when everything will be fine in Armenia. I dream about retiring in a remote village and teaching in a school of 20 pupils. But I shall need a computer and Internet; otherwise I cannot make it. (He laughed)

On the 1st of March, when the police surrounded the square and started beating people up, there were many policemen around me, but none of them approached me. Four of my friends encircled me and got me out of there. I was wearing a green jacket, which I wore during all those 10 days of demonstrations. All the policemen knew me and they knew my jacket as well. Nobody approached me. They were beating everybody up but me. They let me leave and I managed to get out of there. I called home and I told them that the first phase had ended, I new one was about to begin and that they were not supposed to wait for me to go home. I have been missing for a few days. I went to a friend's place, I haven’t slept for ten days, I was hungry and I was looking forward to getting rid of my boots, to taking them off. I couldn’t bear them in my feet anymore. I haven’t put them on since then, because I'm not going anywhere. After ten days, my friend brought me a coffee, I drank it and I fell asleep. My friends covered me and lifted my feet on the couch. I woke up at seven o’clock, when somebody was talking on the phone. I turned on the radio to find out what was happening.

How many hideouts have you changed so far?

From my friend’s house I moved to a place where I stood for a month; then to another place where I've remained until now. Now I am here meeting you. I do not have any problem with being caught. I am used to being accused since I was a child. I only have to play by the rules imposed by the state of a fugitive. I was the contact person of the others who were hiding. I made them a proposal, to get all out one day and meet Hammarberg (the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg) but I only got answer from Aram Manukyan, so the plan was abandoned. Had it happened, the government would have immediately fallen, because it wouldn’t have known how to react in such a situation.

At present, of the ones who are not officially accused, Michael Hairapetyan is the only one still hiding.

Following the investigations made after the events of the 1st and 2nd of March the Parliamentary Assembly Communication Unit (PACE), international body, part of the structures of the Council of Europe, indicates the presence of the political prisoners in Armenia, an inacceptable phenomenon for the Council of Europe and the entire civilised world.

The resolutions formulated by the Monitoring Committee and by PACE, 1609 (2008) and 1620 (2008), recommended sanctions for the Armenian delegation and the immediate solution of the issue. The Parlamentary Assembly considered that progress had been insufficient and remains seriously concerned regardly the crisis that ensued after the presidential election on February 2008 and by the situation of persons deprived on their liberty, charged and imprisoned relationed to the events of March 1 and 2 2008, for political motivations. The report concerning the political situation has been discussed during the Winter Plenary Session, which was taking place during January 26-30, 2009, the Assambly decided not to suspend the voting rights for the members of the Armenian Parlamentary delegation on the Resolution 1643, adopted on January 27, 2009, but recommends to revise the Articles 225 and 300 of the Criminal Code of Armenia , in accordance with European Council standards. Under these Articles, 59 persons are charged and imprisoned, in relation to the events of March 1 and 2 2008. Armenia must implement the demands until the April 2009’s session of the Parlamentary Assambbly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

Armenia started the battle for Independence in 1988, when the Karabakh Movement appeared. It later became the Panarmenian movement, the president of which was Levon Ter-Petrosian. The year 1988 is also the year when the War of Nagorno-Karabakh began, which triggered all the changes on the political scene of Armenia.

On the 23 rd of August 1990, Armenia’s Declaration of Independence was read for the first time by those who were until then construed as extremists and who were part of the Karabakh Committee. It is them who later became MPs of Independent Armenia.

September 21, 1991 is the date of the Referendum for independence, when 100% of the voters said “Yes”, Armenia becoming Independent State. 16th of October the same year, the first presidential elections were organized and they were won by Levon Ter-Petrosian. His mandate ended after five years when he was reelected president of Armenia.

“A party of peace is leaving and a party of war shall come” was declaring Levon Ter-Petrosian on the day his resignation from the position of president of on the 3rd of February 1998. The reason of his resignation was the inner disorder. Levon Ter-Petrosian’s name is connected to the War in Karabakh and all the dark period, of famine, cold and all kinds of privations the Armenian people encountered. From the winter of the year 1991 until 1995, Armenia underwent one of the greatest crisis generated by war, the population being deprived of food, heating in their homes and being forced to cut trees from the streets for heating purposes. They lack as well electricity and water. Besides, even now there are problems with the electricity supply and running water in apartments, even in the capital city. For all this, Petrosian was blamed whilst the opposition took advantages from it in order to eliminate him from power.

The anticipated presidential elections brought Robert Kochearian as head of the state and he led Armenia throughout two mandates. His coming to power did not escape incidents, the Parliament being “cleared” from uncomfortable members, including the prime minister, on October 27, 1999 when the notorious “Parliament shooting” was committed. Nairi Hunanyan together with a group of five armed men entered the Armenian Parliament and they fired against the MPs, seven of whom were killed, plus the prime minister. Hunanyan, unknown until that day, stated, referring to Vasken Sakisian, Armenia’s: “We have got rid of a monster”. Vazgen Sargsian’s death and the death of his spokesman Karen Demirchian, two of the ones who were killed and who were also leaders of the Republican Party and, respectively of the People’s Party is considered a conspiracy masterminded by Robert Kochearian, who could benefit from the elimination of his political competitors.

Robert Kochearian led Armenia until February 2008 when presidential elections were held.

Serj Sarksian is at the moment the elected president of Armenia, but his coming into power is brought into questioning and it cost the death of 10 persons, generating events which changed the society and the political scene of Armenia.

Michael Hairapetyan

KISS OF FREEDOM (1)

To the prisoners of Freedom

by MIKAEL HAIRAPETYAN

President of Conservative Party of Armenia, now he is in underground

Together with my journalist friends Garnik[2] and Vahan[3], many years ago, we often reminded the following phrase in one American movie. Two men, one old and one young, escape from the prison and forced to pass through the sewerage dirty waters and shit. When the young guy, being up to the waist in the shit, complaints to his disgust, what a f…g smell is this, the old man says. “This is the smell of freedom, boy!”.

The freedom also has a taste. And there’s no movie about it. One friend of mine, who’s name with singular coincidence is Azat[4], who more than 10 years spent in the Soviet jail, told me such a story. This is even not the story but the pattern. Imagine the taiga in the Far East, where there are no habitants per hundreds miles, but only the wild nature and beasts, and a such winter’s cold, that even the people of the blockaded Leningrad and the soldiers of field-marshal Paulus in Stalingrad would deem it as the hell. And imagine located at this space the Soviet concentration camp with the prisoners. To imagine this easier, read our Mahari or Russian Solzhenitsyn books, and it makes your blood run cold. Everybody of those prisoners sleeps and sees the dream, sees the warmth, the cities and villages, the streets and the human life. Among those dreamers there are sometimes the men, who try to flee to the dream, the life.

Every time it happens so that two men agree to escape from the prison. They are always two. But they escape three. As always too. But this third doesn’t know that he is the third. He thinks is one of three, the part of triumvirate, the third way, the third force. This third is selected with care by the first two, and he will never guess that he is the selected one.

Month by month they save up the meal and prepare the clothes. But they need to take a little, because in the first days they have to escape very fast, even if the snow is up to their neck, and the degree is lower from zero till the infinity. The time comes and they escape. The Soviet jailers chase them with the dogs. Not finding or being not able to catch up with them, they don’t worry much, because they know it is impossible to pass through such a space and here every fugitive has the ultimate date with the death. That’s why the non-escaped thousands of the prisoners in the camp even don’t try to escape because they don’t want to have this date. The fugitives merely follow their dreams, they are less realists.

As sometimes happens the fugitives return to the camp. Sometimes their corps are found in the summer, when the weak spring comes to this place. The corps are tore to the pieces by the wild animals.

As seldom happens the escape succeeds. How comes? If their saved meal is enough for several days? Well, one or two weeks. But they can pass only several miles per day. It means, this journey demands at least one month. Somerset Moem writes that in the 15th century bishop Martiros of Yerznka went through the habited cities to Spain for the pilgrimage to the grave of Аpostle James, so he passed the same road in 5-6 years. Let’s suppose, that those fugitives go for the pilgrimage to Freedom, and because of it their forces and endurance are strengthened, and 5-6 years become 1-2 months. But they have to survive during these months, if they wouldn’t be tore to pieces by the wild animals.

When in the end of the first week or in the second one the poor reserve of the meal is expired, they can move hungry several hours or even days. If they eat, they eat the dry leaves, branches, peels or roots of the trees found under the thick blanket of the snow. But it is poisoned meal, and they loathe soon.

And when it seems they are exhausted and their freedom raid was in vain, by the signal, understood only for them, the first two assault on the third one and kill him. Every cell of the killed body is valuable. First, it is used the blood, then the dismembered corps is put in the rucksacks of the two. There is no threat of “spoiling of food”, it is too cold. The only inconvenience is that the “food” will not continue his raid by himself. They with care feed themselves by their fellow’s corps as long time as they reach a safe place.

My friend told me other details, like those two men pull out from their teeth the sinews of human meat, like they make chewable an iron-like frozen human meat. “This is the taste of freedom, boy”, the runaway prisoner would tell, if ever there will be a movie about it. The taste and smell of Freedom are heavy. It is also hard when anyone becomes the third. The remembering mass of the third soul is only the roar of the tiger and the howl of the jackal in the taiga.

[1] In Armenian this word composed by two parts, which mean “taste” and “smell”.

[2] In Armenian Garnik means “lamb”, and the Armenians from the ancient times till now used

to sacrifice the lamb for God, in difference with the sheep, which was granted to Abraham instead of Isahak .

[3] In Armenian Vahan name means “shield”.

[4] In Armenian Azat means “free”. This name is very spread among the Armenians. This is also the name of Azat Arshakyan, one of the most formidable Soviet political prisoners .