Armenia

Gyumri, Shirak Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2005

Nareg at Cilicia.com’s Life in Armenia blog says that he’s just come back from a tree planting event in Armenia’s second largest city, Gyumri. The event was apparently arranged by the General Prosecutor of Armenia, Aghvan Hovsepian, who could perhaps really try to reverse the current trend of deforestation by prosecuting those officials and businessmen responsible for illegal logging rather than engage in a few more publicity stunts. Still, Nareg says that the party afterwards was a blast.

The large central table was occupied by the big shots, including Mr. Hovsepyan, and this one character who kept getting up and making genatses (toasts) in a VERY loud voice. It reminded me of that crocodile character in Disney’s “Robin Hood” cartoon; really, the guy did very well, most impressive, without having to resort to a microphone. He was like a TYPICAL local, though, albeit dressed in white, and with a cap that made him rather reminiscent of chauffeur. But he was loud, so very loud, and then he got up on stage and began to sing and sing and sing… Finally, I ask someone, “Who is this character, anyway ?”. As I’m sure some of you reading may have already guessed, I forgot the chap’s name, but he was the right honourable Mayor of Gyumri.

Both the Mayor of Gyumri and the General Prosecutor are very interesting characters indeed. In March 2004, the Armenian President has accused the Mayor of mismanaging reconstruction of Gyumri, and at one point there was even talk of opening a criminal case against him.

Prosecutors said on Thursday they are considering opening a criminal case against Gyumri’s embattled Mayor Vartan Ghukasian who has been accused by President Robert Kocharian of mismanaging the distribution of new housing in Armenia’s second city.

[…]

Hamlet Hovsepian, the chief prosecutor of the northwestern Shirak region of which Gyumri is the capital, told RFE/RL that Ghukasian is suspected of illegally renting out office space to a close relative. He said the municipal authorities bypassed the city council when making the decision.

Asked whether Ghukasian will personally be charged with abuse of power, Hovsepian replied: “Things will clear up in a few days’ time.”

The case, concerning the ground floor of a local public building, pales in comparison with accusations made against the flamboyant mayor by an inter-ministerial government commission earlier this month. The commission, led by the head of Kocharian’s oversight service, Vahram Barseghian, claimed to have found “numerous abuses” in the distribution of thousands of new apartments built in the earthquake-ravaged city with the multimillion-dollar assistance of a U.S.-Armenian charity. Its preliminary findings were publicly endorsed by Kocharian.

Still, at least the Mayor didn’t drink so much this time that he started firing off guns at people sitting at other tables. Residents of Gyumri confirm the incident, but also say that Ghukasian’s relatives unfortunately do far worse, but nobody dares investigate the accusations further.

Armenian newspapers report that the flamboyant mayor of Armenia’s second largest city of Gyumri, Vartan Ghukasian, shot from a pistol at a group of Russian soldiers after a drunken argument in a local restaurant belonging to his brother. “Fortunately, no one was hurt and only the restaurant’s windows were left broken,” says “Aravot,” adding that Gyumri prosecutors have launched an investigation into the incident.

“The mayor, who was drunk, picked a fight with Russian servicemen sitting at a nearby table,” says “Haykakan Zhamanak.” “He lost his nerve in the process and he emptied the entire magazine [of his pistol] in the direction of the Russians.” The paper also says that no casualties were reported, suggesting sarcastically that the mayor, known for his staunch support for President Robert Kocharian, was too drunk to take aim. “The servicemen have already filed a report on the incident and the Shirak region’s police department is preparing materials in connection with the fact. Particularly important is the fact that the pistol was possessed illegally.” Officials in the Gyumri mayor’s office, however, deny that the incident took place at all.

Well, anyway, looks like the General Prosecutor and Gyumri’s Mayor seem to have made up their differences and are now partying together. Aghvan Hovsepian, no stranger to controversy in Armenia, seems to be going from strength to strength since his re-appointment two years ago that saw a massive violation of human and civil rights during opposition protests in Yerevan during April the same year.

Not sure about national “unity,” but I hope there was enough Shant ice cream to go around. Nareg at least gave us an insight into some of the bizarre contradictions and peculiarities that still define modern-day Armenia.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 1st, 2006 at 4:59 am and is filed under Environment, Diaspora, Blogging, Caucasus, Armenia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.