Armenia

For the first time since the collapse of the former Soviet Union an Azerbaijani airliner has landed at Armenia’s main Zvartnots Airport. In what was no doubt as much symbolic in the context of continuing attempts to resolve the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh than simply travel, the Azal Airlines TU–134 carried the three OSCE […]

Aghavnadzor, Vayots Dzor Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Habitat for Humanity 2006
I came back from seeing my Mum off a few hours ago and just wanted to comment on the Square One restaurant that’s newly opened there. It takes a lot to impress me and not least because the eateries in Yerevan […]

It’s the third day of my Mum’s visit to Armenia and British Airways still has no idea where her luggage is. There were about a dozen others on the same flight who are also without their bags, as well as those who came over on the the Air France flight that arrived a few hours […]

RFE/RL reported yesterday that Armavia has rejected Russian claims that the crash of one its planes earlier this year was due to pilot error. Almost everybody I’ve spoken to in Armenia about the findings of a special commission to investigate the crash also feels the same.
Russia’s Transport Minister Igor Levitin said on Wednesday that […]

When the Armenian Defense Minister was immediately despatched by President Kocharian to Sochi after the tragic crash of an Armavia A320 on 3 May that claimed 113 lives, no media reports questioned why. Indeed, while in other countries the Minister of Transport might concern themselves with the accident, it would usually be up to an independent enquiry to determine the cause of the accident, and not a state official with close business links to the main shareholder of the airline in question.

As a result, rumors in Yerevan as well as news reports and blogs on the Internet suggest that things might not be as they were initially reported. Whereas the official line has been that bad weather was the cause of the crash, many Armenians say that the crash was caused by gunfire in the aircraft.

“Everyone in Yerevan speak that sounds like shooting were heard before the plane fell,” states journalist of the Novoye Vremya Armenian newspaper Nora Kananova.

In her words, “Allegedly former Security Service chief Karlos Petrosyan got a call late at night from his son Aram, who was aboard A-320 airbus and shots were heard. It was the moment, when the plane fell into the sea…”

Ara Manoogian over at Martuni or Bust has more on this fantastic theory, and says that the son of the former head of National Security Service (former KGB) of the Republic of Armenia might be to blame for the worst aircraft crash in Armenia’s history that made headline news around the world.

The one thing that is not mentioned in the article is that the pilots body was found and he had been shot.

The mention of Aram Petrosyan’s call to his father was mentioned I’m guessing to safely tell the story of what really happened. From what I have been told, he called his father to tell him that the plane is going to turn back to Yerevan and wanted his dad to contact the plane and insist on them landing on Sochi. Apparently he was outraged and then had an altercation with the flight crew who were telling him it was too dangerous to land. That’s when Aram shot someone in the cabin and one of the bullets put a hole in the outer skin caused the cabin to depressurize and the plane to rip open.

There were also quite a few very wealthy business persons on board the flight who were well connected with people in government.

To be honest, I find such rumors fantastic even for Armenia, but one thing’s for sure. People in Yerevan are talking about this version of events, and many seem to believe it. Only goes to show how they view the behaviour of government officials and their families, and how little they believe the state-controlled TV news. Add to that the fact that the Minister of Defense was sent to conduct the official enquiry and that the A-320’s black boxes have yet to be found, no wonder the rumor mill in Yerevan is running wild.

Of course, I don’t discount this version of events. I mean, anything can happen in Armenian circles when the sons of current and former officials are involved, but I do consider that an independent enquiry must be established preferably by European investigators and that the black boxes must be found and their content released to the international media. Instead, Mikhail Baghdasarov, a close business associate of the Defense Minister and the main shareholder in Armavia, denies the claims.

Mikhael Baghdasarov, a Russia-based Armenian businessman, who owns the biggest air company, said flight recorders have to be decoded which only Airbus’ experts can do, since only the company has the special clue. He said the company has no information about exactly when the flight recorders could be retrieved from the depth of about 495 meters. Baghdasarov then described rumors that the wrecked A320 carried huge sums of money, that there were shots before it fell into the sea and that the pilot might have died of a heart stroke or a shot as ‘nonsense.”

Bizarre.

Anyway, whatever the reason for the crash, I questioned the Defense Minister’s involvement in this matter when it was announced immediately after the crash, and it’s good to see that others are finally beginning to do the same. However, I would stress that all of the information contained in this post are so far only rumors circulating in the Armenian media and among the population. Perhaps they should be treated as such until the findings of an independent investigation are released. However, what if the only investigation conducted is by officials business links to the owner of Armavia?

By LoonyMoony

“Will you play music tonight?”, I asked as soon as we entered Our Village, a traditional Armenian restaurant in Yerevan. As far as I remembered they had live music every day. I was with my English and Scottish friends Chrisandra and Adrianne. They both teach Armenian dances and are here for dance training and would have been pleased to listen to Armenian folk music while eating Armenian food.

“No”, the waitor replied looking at me reproachingly, “we are not playing music today because it is a day of morning”.

“Ah, sorry, I forgot”, I said.

Well, it is not that I forgot. I kept remembering the horrible plane crash in Sochi all day. Chrisandra and Adrianne who arrived with a dancing group on the day of the tragedy were also upset about the tragedy as well. In fact, Chrisandra said when such tragedies happen you feel sad not only about the people whom it happened to, even though you don’t know them, but you also remember the people you lost.

I agree with her. I always have that feeling. I felt sad on that day. And the day after. And today.

But is it compulsory to show my sadness constantly and do everything for it not to pass? We are a nation crazy for showing off, but grief does not need that. When I cry I like to be alone. However, we are fond of making intertaining shows of our grief. On the day of the crash, Armenia TV broadcast only that, pretending that it was the first to get news to the people. However, there was no news that day because no one knew what exactly caused the crash.

However, lots of different officials would suggest possible versions without any proof, which could only disturb the relatives of thoe that died even more. And I cannot understand the sense in bringing these relatives in front of the camera to show them weeping for some two minutes while asking them who they lost in the crash. Perhaps Onnik, who joined us later in the restaurant, is absolutely right when he said that Armenians are a nation obsessed with mourning.

Just look at our funerals. If not for the coffin of the deceased, one might think it is simply a big feast. I don’t know the majority of my relatives because I meet those who I know very rarely. They did not visit me on my birthday, on my graduation party, or even on my wedding, but when I lose someone close to me they are always there to support me, but to leave me alone as soon as the funeral is over.

The two days of national mourning declared by the Armenian government does not allow the playing of music in public places, and all TV stations have to put on “mournful” music for those days, only to be interrupted by “news” about the crash.

Yesterday, it was a duduk music in Our village — music that is usually played at funerals. That music affects on my psychology. I begin feeling guilty for the fact that I am alive, but does it help the people who lost their lives? Does it help their relatives?

The restaurant becomes silent. Everyone puts a serious look on their face, but it lasts only some two minutes. After that, the music gets drowned out by hysterical laughter from tables occupied by Armenians and their foreign guests. That’s what I call hypocrisy. Isn’t it a huge insult to those who lost their lives or their families in that tragedy?

All the cafes keep quiet for two days. “It must be horrible for the relatives to walk on the streets and hear, for instance, Armenchik’s cheerful voice from the cafes, my friend said while criticizing me for “not mourning along with the whole nation.”

First, the relatives of the deceased do not walk on the streets — they bury their loved ones. Second, please do not feel content about comprehending and respecting people’s feelings because they are going to feel pain much longer after those two days, much longer after you forget this story…

Global Voices Online has a round up of blogs dealing with yesterday’s crash of an Armavia A-320 as it attempted to land in Sochi. Ironic that when Armenia makes headline news around the world it has to be something like this.

Indeed, typical questions being asked of me last night by a few people were things like why wasn’t I there taking photographs and reports. Others spoke about their own experiences of flying Armavia, while most people carried on with their lives regardless.

Anyway, my response was that I’m not interested in covering the story, especially when there are already a zillion reports and images flying through the wires, like this one from the BBC.

So far, 47 bodies of the 113 aboard the Armavia A320 jet have been retrieved from choppy sea waters.

The cause of the crash is not known but officials say the plane may have been brought down by bad weather as it tried to land in the Russian resort of Sochi.

Passengers’ relatives have gathered in the city to begin identifying the dead.

Photos of the bodies recovered so far have been posted in a hotel in Sochi where the relatives are staying.

(more…)

Via iArarat, news of an Armenian Armavia Airbus A-320 flying from Yerevan crashing as it attempted to land in Sochi.

MOSCOW (AP) — An Armenian passenger plane with 100 people aboard crashed early Wednesday off the Black Sea coast shortly before it was to land in the Russian city of Sochi, Russian news agencies reported. Wreckage from the plane was spotted not far from the shoreline, but no passengers or crew have so far been found, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported, quoting a Russian Emergency Situations Ministry official.

Reuters puts the number of passengers killed at 113. Artyom links to the latest news on the accident here.