I’m back in Yerevan. More meetings, more leads to follow and a strange but expected reaction from the government to the latest investigation. I can’t tell you right now what I’m investigating, but can just say that in the course of our investigation, the government has learned as to what were up to and they are taking drastic measures to remedy the problems and cover up their involvement.

The weather today is great!!! When I came a couple of days ago, it was sunny and I was in shorts. Yesterday was rain for most of the day. Crazy weather. I’m going to risk it today and put on shorts, but keep a pair of pants in the car just in case it cools down.

It seems that there is a great deal of tension in the air here in Armenia, with the opposition having meetings to protest the Kocharian government. They are not calling for revolution, but for a change in government. Sorry to say this, but their idea is to get into a position of power and not reconcile with the past. Their idea is the problems started after October 27th, 1999 and not back in 1990. Until we face our past and reconcile, we can’t move forward. Until the opposition recognizes this, they are no better than the present day government and for that reason, I hope that their efforts fail (which I think they will).

One thing good that can come from these meetings is that maybe Kocharian will understand that the way he is running the country is wrong and he needs to implement social and economic changes that will benefit the greater population, but by doing this, will be economic suicide for him and his friends and for that reason, I don’t believe he can take the necessary steps we need today.

Were living in a very challenging time.

Yesterday I was in Stepanagert and stopped in to see one of Godchildren who I had not seen for a few months.

He greeted me and told me that I had come just in time and if I was willing to take his wife to her village. I told him I didn’t have a problem if he needed me to do this. He told me he guessed that I didn’t understand, his wife wanted to leave him and had packed her bags.

I took him into the bedroom and asked him if he wanted to talk about it? He did and told me that he understood that he was to blame, but he said that if his wife leaves, he will not take her back and has no problem living alone.

He went on to tell me about what had happened in the morning and his being demanding with his wife in regards to breakfast not being what he wanted it to be when he had an unexpected guest. He said that he knew this was not that big a deal, but knows that her wanting to leave was a build-up of things that he had done.

I asked him if he was interested in my opinion? He agreed and said that as his Godfather, he as no right to object to what I say.

I started out to tell him the importance of family and how such a change would have an adverse effect on his 2 children.

I went on to tell him what I have observed in the past and had pointed out to him long ago was his being harsh with his wife and daughter, belittling them in front of friends and how I would guess this really bothers his wife.

I called in his wife and the three of us discussed his discontent with her and her discontent with him. She told of how her biggest complaint is the belittling in front of his friends.

I told them that it was very important to communicate and at least talk everyday for 5 minutes with each other, even it is talking about nothing.

We came to an agreement that each of them would request from the other one reasonable thing they would like to see change, which they would work on this week.

I then said that I was going to leave the room and they should sit next to each other for 5 minutes and talk. I added that if it was not too difficult, to hold hands while talking.

It seems that in this country there are no such things as marriage counseling, but there sure is a big need for it. These were very big issues to this couple, but in less than 30 minutes we put things into perspective.

As this exchange was going on, all I could think is that here I am in Artsakh with an Armenian couple and was fully understanding their problems and knowing what each one of them was feeling, not by that half hour talk, but from what I have observed in the last 6 years from talking to people here and really feeling what they feel. The women feel like slaves to their husbands and children. The men feel like they have to show they are men and are very aggressive towards their wives.

My aunt who was a social worker would have been so proud of me, as 5 minutes later, my Godson and his wife joined me in the living room and they were both talking and smiling.

They have agreed to give their marriage a second chance and if they feel like there is a problem that they can’t resolve, they will call me and we will sit down again and see what can be done to fix it and move forward.

TWO-YEAR SENTENCE FOR THEFT OF 503 KILOS OF WHEAT

March 25, 2004

MARTUNI, ARTSAKH – As the Martuni district court handed down the sentence to 3 convicted thieves for stealing 503 kilos of wheat, the victim was surprised and pled with the judge saying, “Your honor, I feel that these men have already suffered enough. They have paid me back for what they have stolen and I have never heard anything bad about them before this…”

On October of 2003, the 3 family men had on two occasions stolen wheat from the victim in all 11 sacks of wheat totaling 503 kilos, which they divided among themselves. For this, they sat in jail for 3 months until trial, at which time the prosecutor read off the charges of premeditated theft, working as a criminal group and a number of other charges that allowed a total sentence of 2 years in prison.

Of the 3 men, one had once been convicted of theft and the other two had never before been charged with any crimes, were both said to be well educated and driven to commit this crime by a need to provide for their families.

The question now comes as to if the sentence was too harsh, or was there a need to make an example of these men so others living under similar conditions would think twice before committing such a crime?

Of course when following the law, these men had what was coming to them. On the other hand, if these men were driven by economic hardship and a need to feed their children, then could the court have found room for leniency, taking into consideration that they had repaid the victim for his loss (paying 200 dram a kilo, which is higher than the current market value)?

Then the question also should be asked as to what effect incarceration will have on the men and their families? Who will provide for the collective 9 children and 3 wives for the next 21 months (the balance of their sentence)?

Though it’s not fair or right to compare this crime with other crimes, there was a case of the Prosecutor General’s son who ran over and killed not one, but I believe 2 people and never even had to set foot in a police station or even had charges filed against him.

And the case of a Armenian-Georgian, who was murdered by President Kocharian’s security staff and only one person faced criminal charges and in the end was let off without spending time in jail.

And then there is the case of the “victim” who the 3 men stole 503 kilos of wheat from to presumably feed their children and his being arrested in 1995 for stealing truck loads of supplies from an army base in Artsakh where he was the keeper of, which later part of said supplies were recovered from his home. He got off after fleeing to Russia and the commander of that base arranged to have the case dropped.

The same “victim” who the 503 kilos were stolen from was again arrested a few years ago when he struck a man who he broke his jaw after the man whose jaw was broken by the “victim” had complained about the “victim’s” wife who is a pediatrician and had incorrectly medicated the man’s daughter, causing a permanent loss of her speech. Instead of going to jail for 8 years, he was given probation. It should also be noted that the “victim” at that time was the brother-in-law of the Martuni Regional Minister.

So you see, the way the law works here is based not always on the law, but on who you know and how much you have to pay your way out of trouble.

I can tell you right now that if the 3 men were able to come up with a few hundred dollars, they could have paid their way out of jail, but seeing that they had to steal wheat to feed their children, it’s clear that they don’t have access to such a luxury.

What are the dangers of revolution in Armenia today?

This is a very serious question that people are talking about more and more.

In Armenia as the weather starts to heat up, it seems that people will take to the streets to protest against the President and his government.

People are in fear of Azerbaijan taking advantage of instability and starting the war again.

People fear that there are no good leaders better than Kocharian to replace him.

Though everyone seems to have legitimate concerns, much of these fears are unrealistic and for the speculation of war breaking out, this seems to be more of a bluff that the pro present day government people are passing around to try to scare people from starting a revolution.

The reality is that war will not break out as long as Kocharian does not try to use the army to prevent civil unrest and leaves the army to do what it is intended to do, protect our boarders.

War can only break out if Russia and the West allows it to and at this point, a war would further prevent economic gains for Russia and the West, so there is a very good chance that such a conflict right now will not happen.

Why I’m bring this up now is that for over a month, this has been the topic of discussion every place I go and it always ends in people better understanding that even if we do have a revolution and if Kocharian and the people in power are truly Armenian, then there will be no devastating effect to national security.

The big question remains. Is Kocharian really Armenian and is he thinking of what is best for this country or if he is thinking about staying in power at all costs and if there is revolution, will Kocharian and Sarkissian deploy the army?

One thing that comes to mind is the presidential and parliament elections and how Kocharian and Sarkissian used the army for getting votes. They also used army personal, police and national security persons from Artsakh, dressed in Armenian police uniforms who were deployed to Armenia, to do what they had to in the even of civil unrest. Those that were taken over which from what I remember was in the neighborhood of 4,000 people, where first asked if they had a problem in doing what they had to do to Armenians?

Also I remember that in the village of Khachig, that during the parliament elections, they took so many conscripts to vote for Sarkissian and HIS people, that the Azeri’s were able to capture and hold a strategic hill.

In short, Kocharian and Sarkissian have shown that they are ready to do what they have to, to stay in power and for that reason, I’m not sure if they will in this case use the army to protect their interests.

I will say this for sure, if they do deploy the army, there is a good chance that it will backfire on them and in the end, they will have to flee the country to stay alive. Of course if you know Armenians, that period of time will only be temporary until someone catches up with them.

One thing that Sarkissian has recently said is that anyone that tries anything will be punished according to the law. I guess what he does not seem to want to understand is that during a revolution, the law does not apply and in some cases depending on how things end, the law becomes null and void and things start once again from square one.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
25 March 2004

Controversial MP Named Provincial Governor

By Emil Danielyan

A controversial lawmaker accused by critics of leading a mobster clan in his native region was appointed on Thursday as the new governor of Armenia's southeastern Syunik region.

Surik Khachatrian, who has close ties with Prime Minister Andranik Markarian's Republican Party (HHK), was named by the government to replace Edik Barseghian, a former chief of the Armenian traffic police. A government statement gave no reasons for Barseghian's sacking and the choice of his successor.

A parliament deputy since 1995, Khachatrian, 47, is better known to the public with his "Liska" nickname. A former car mechanic, he rose to prominence during the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in 1992-94 when he was the commander of paramilitary and army units in his native town of Goris. He later became a senior member of the once powerful Yerkrapah Union of war veterans.

Goris and the surrounding district are adjacent to the Lachin corridor linking Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh and are part of the bigger Syunik region. The area has long been considered a de facto personal fiefdom of Khachatrian and his extended family. The clan controls the local administration and most businesses, reportedly fighting back any challenges to its hegemony.

Media speculation has often linked Khachatrian to violent incidents reported from Goris. His two nephews, for example, are currently facing criminal prosecution on charges of murdering a local man earlier this month.

In a recent newspaper interview, Khachatrian did not deny their guilt, but insisted that he had no role in the killing. He also acknowledged his unofficial status, saying that Goris residents know that "their ultimate salvation lies in my office." "Things are always sad here when I'm not in town," he said.

That Khachatrian will be appointed governor was announced by the
"Haykakan Zhamanak" daily in its Thursday edition. The paper suggested that he will get the job to make way for Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian's election to the Armenian parliament from the Goris constituency. It claimed that Sarkisian has set his sights on the post of parliament speaker.

Incidentally, Khachatrian had been a bitter enemy of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), a member of the ruling coalition that was in opposition to Armenia's former government. The nationalist party accused him of overthrowing in 1992 the elected head of the Goris district administration affiliated with Dashnaktsutyun.

I’m back in Martuni. What great weather we are having. It was 30c yesterday. I really wanted to go out with shorts on, but didn’t.

My car got all fixed up in Yerevan, though it took 2 days longer than I was expecting. Not a big deal and I’m glad it’s taken care of.

Thanks to the weather, it looks like we will be starting demolition and then construction of a new building for our salon, offices and rental space. I’m suppose to be entering into the property agreement in the next day or so and as soon as the papers are signed, we will start work. My general manager tells me that if all goes as planned, we will finish construction in 3 months. I’ll be happy if it’s ready by the end of the year.

As always, I can expect fires to be burning when I return home and as expected, my dog has once again been snacking on the neighbors chickens. This has to stop and now that we have discovered how she gets out of the yard, it should not be too difficult to put an end to this problem.

There has once again been talk of why I have gone to Yerevan. Again it’s the same subject of me having been married and also about the Americans coming and beating me up. Small town, big imagination. I love this place.

News from the lake is that due to the weather change, the fish are playing and there are reports that we have Sazan (a type of Carp) which are the size of Dolphins. I saw one myself last year, but now it seems there are quite a few. This is a direct result of not allowing land mines to be blown up to catch fish. I am looking forward to the summer heat and swimming with the “Dolphins”.

I’m now back to working on my book, which due to the lack of winter and my traditional hibernation period, I really didn’t get much done. It’s very hard work and though there are many fond memories from the past, I really don’t have a super desire to revisit them now. I guess one reason is that I literally have thousands of type written pages of journals that will take me years to sift through. At this point other than the early years, it’s going to be a random pick of stuff, since it’s all good stuff and it’s too much for a book.

I had always envisioned this book or more so my journals, for my reading pleasure when I am 90 years old and have much time on my hands. On the other hand, I get the feeling at the rate I’m going, when I’m 90, I’ll be even busier than I am now, have thousands of more pages added, so maybe this is a good time to do this work and get this part of my life out of the way. I wonder if there is a better way to keep things organized in the future so it will be easier to compile? Maybe one of our children we can birth for the sole purpose of working on this book? I don’t know and the whole idea of a book just makes me tired.

My car is still not ready, though I should have it by Sunday. I guess it’s not that big a deal right now since I’ve come down with a cold/flu, probably due to the radical temperature changes and all the people I’ve met with in the last few days that have runny noses.

For my cold, I went to the pharmacy and picked up some Anti-Cold, which is produced in Armenia by Parsarmen Pharm JVCJ. Co. I don’t know how well this stuff is working, but I keep having to drink water, as it is drying out my mouth. Every few hours I wake with a totally dry mouth, which is not all that great a feeling.

I’ve been exploring the possibility of purchasing a house in Yerevan, since my fiancé still has 6 years of studies here. We have discussed where to buy and with all the tree cutting and increase in pollution, we have decided to look for land outside the smog-belt and build a house.

I know building from scratch could be a real nightmare, but I’m figuring if it’s going to be the way we want it, then instead of a major renovation to a house that knowing me will in the end be torn down and then we start from scratch, it’s just best to build new. I also will bring my crew from Artsakh, which means there will be only delays due to weather.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a glimpse at the 2004 calendar book that the Ministry of Defense published. Very interesting stories and reprinted articles, including one about my grandfather Shahan Natalie.

I was shown the calendar book by my Godson Lavrent, who also had an article written about him, but it was not as flattering as the one about my grandfather.

Just some really quick background on Lavrent. He was one on Monte Melkonian’s soldiers who Monte was quite fond of and took this boy from a village who drove a bulldozer and made him into a tank driver in a matter less than a month.

In battle, Lavrent was usually the lead tank and during the war, he hit 29 land mines. Once being mistaken for dead after being removed from his blown up tank and while at the morgue, he started to grown and was rushed off to the hospital where they revived him. In short this guy is the real Energizer Bunny who just keeps on going.

So Lavrent came to me with his Ministery of Defense’s 2004 calendar book and showed me the article about him which at the heading read “The Real Story”.

“The Real Story” which was titled “You Never turn your back to the Turks” talked about an operation that Monte executed where they were to capture 5 or 6 Azeri tanks using land mines. It went on to say that Lavrent didn’t understand his orders and hit a tank destroying it. Monte got upset and called Lavrent an “Avanag” (Jackass) and saying that he hit a tank that was to be ours.

According to Lavrent, this never happened and as many times as Monte got upset with Lavrent, he never called him an “Avanag”. On top of that, Lavrent never heard Monte use the word “Avanag” in Martuni, he would use the word “Esh”, which means the same thing, but again, never had he used this word on Lavrent.

Lavrent wanted to find out where this “real story” originated, as it was not all that real and in a sense, made Monte even look bad, as no one in their right mind uses land mines to capture tanks and no such operation had taken place with Lavrent present.

The other day when Lavrent arrived to Yerevan, he asked me if I had looked into who the publishers were of the calendar? I had not had time, but as soon as he asked, we drove to the Armen Press building and went to the administrators office, where I knew that people who love books are always helpful and sure as can be, like a reference librarian, the worker found who the publisher was and in a couple of minutes I was talking to Verg Israelyan, the chief editor, who is a Kuntabed in the Armenian army (he has 3 large stars on his shoulder, one more than my neighbor who commands a large base).

I told Israelyan that I was Shahan Natalie’s grandson and had read the flattering article about my grandfather in his calendar and wanted to meet with him to discuss the origin of some of the other articles. He said that since he office is at the Ministry of Defense, it would be difficult for me to gain access and we should meet somewhere. We agreed to meet at the Armenia Hotel at 3 PM.

At 3 PM Lavrent and I arrived at the Armenia Hotel and waiting for us out front was Kuntabed Israelyan. He was delighted to meet Shahan Natalie’s grandson and as we sat for a cup of coffee (I had tea), he told me of his publishing carrier and how he use to work with a newspaper that had republished Shahan works and articles of his very inspiring work that the Armenian army promotes regularly among the ranks.

I thanked Israelyan for all the nice compliments and focused on the reason of our meeting, finding out the origin of the “real story” that belittles Lavrent. He said that he was not really sure of the origin of the story and said that he didn’t even know if “Lavrent” was a real person? I told him that Lavrent was a real person and was sitting next to him.

Lavrent said that it was important that we find out where he obtained this “real story”, as there was very little in it that was real.

At first he became defensive, which I guess we were expecting, but in time he said that he would do his best to find where it came from, but it would be difficult, as it could have been a story that one of Monte’s friends told. I told him that it didn’t matter who it was or where it came from, he needs to tell us or he himself will have to answer for publishing a not so “real story” which we will visit with Serg himself if need be.

We clearly upset the Kuntabed, who was expecting a friendly meeting with the grandson of someone who he greatly admires. Oh well, if he wants to have a friendly relationship with me, he’s going to have to produce results and show that he responsibly published “The Real Story”.

A few months ago, I had the engine replaced in my car with a engine that took us over a month to find, since all the engines we looked at had signs of a potential problem of them burning oil.

At one point, I gave up hope that we would find a engine and agreed to have my engine rebuilt, which was followed my mechanic Vova calling me the next day to tell me he found an engine that was in almost new condition and did not burn oil.

Vova put in the new engine and when I drove it the first time, I noticed excess smoke coming out of the exhaust. I pointed this out and also pointed out that my transmission was not working as it use to and asked if they had changed it also?

I was told that the smoke would pass in time and the transmission was working differently because the new engine had more power. I was not sure what to think at this point, as next to my old engine was a Mercedes transmission that looked like it could fit on my engine.

I went to my Stepanagert mechanic Arnold, when I returned from Yerevan and was given the news that this new engine was burning oil.

We called Vova in Yerevan, who also happens to be from the village of Jardar (Martuni region) and is somehow related to Mavrik Ghoulkasyan, the NKR Prosecutor General, informing him of our discovery.

He told me the next time I come to Yerevan, to stop in and he will make adjustments to rid me of the problem.

After 3 visits to Vova did not rid me of the oil burning problem, so when I came to Yerevan 10 days ago, I brought with me Lavrent, my newest Godson, the person that now drives my dump truck and also someone who has taken it on himself to make sure that people who trick me in technical matters, such as things related to my motor vehicles, understand that they will correct their mistakes.

Lavrent and I went to see Vova the day we arrived. Vova told us that he was swamped with work and he will contact me in the next week to give me a solid date as to when Lavrent can come and he would change with Lavrent present any parts that are worn and causing the engine to burn oil.

I sent Lavrent back to Stepanagert the next day and called Vova 4 days later to see when he will start the work so I can tell Lavrent when to come back? He said he would call me the next day.

The next day passed and my trying to call Vova was just not working. His cell phone would ring and then I’d call again and it was unreachable, meaning he was out or range or turned it off. Calling his home was no use, as the phone would just ring and at one point a message came on that it was disconnected.

I called Lavrent to tell him what was going on and my having no luck in contacting Vova. He said not to worry, he would come on Tuesday and we would drop in to see Vova, if need be at his home, which I kind of knew were it was from conversations I had had with Vova.

On Tuesday night, we drove to Vova’s neighborhood and by asking, located his house. He was not home, but his wife was quite helpful and told us when he would be coming home.

We waited and at midnight, Vova pulls up to his house to see my car parked in his driveway. We greeted him and got him to agree to start the work today.

I know Lavrent and know that he will make sure that the engine is properly repaired and also my transmission is reinstalled on my car, since the transmission that is on it now knocks when it changes gears.

RFE/RL Press Review

16 March 2004

"Iravunk" says Yerevan's chief prosecutor, Hrachya Badalian, has imposed an information blackout on the criminal investigation into Friday's café gunfight in central Yerevan that was heard by the Armenian and Georgian presidents. "This fact suggests that individuals linked to high-ranking officials were indeed involved in the incident," the paper says. Among the "active participants" was the son of Minister for Local Government Hovik Abrahamian.

"Hayots Ashkhar" similarly complains that the only information on the case it managed to obtain on Monday was that Badalian "is not in the office." The paper finds the very fact of groups of young men settling scores in a public place outrageous. Citing information from unofficial sources, it says the gunfire was provoked by a disputed over the ownership of the café called Triumph.

"Azg" notes in this regard that Triumph belongs to Armen Gevorgian, a key aide to President Robert Kocharian.