It goes both ways - evidence is evidence

A while back the newspaper Haykakan Zhamanak published a story that one of Robert Kocharyan's sons had caused some type of ruckus in Dubai. Long story short, that resulted in the Kocharyan family suing HZH for slander or some such charge. One of the main pieces of evidence put forth that said Kocharyan son had NOT been in Dubai at the time of the alleged ruckus was that his passport did not hold any evidence of travel to Dubai at that time.

It goes both ways.

Likewise, if Pashinyan's passport does not hold any evidence that Pashinyan travelled abroad, well, then he was in Armenia during that time.

Any other argument would be absurd...

RFE/RL interview(60 min program) November 9 with Lucine Sahakyan (Pashinyan's lawyer) from approx 6min to 11:34 min.

Authorities declare Pashinyan's trial invalid

In a bizarre turn of events, the government of Armenia has chosen a creative and unprecedented route to free political prisoner Nikol Pashinyan. Pashinyan, now a candidate for an empty MP seat, needed documentation of permanent residence of 5 years in Armenia to complete his paperwork. The Ijevan branch of the RA Police Passport and Visa Department has refused to give him that documentation, stating that he was not in Armenia between February 26 and July 7 of 2008. This is where the authorities' amazing and calculated strategy shines brilliant. Pashinyan is currently imprisoned and on trial for his role in the events of March 1, 2008. And, he turned himself in to the authorities, as witnessed by numerous article and videos, on July 1, 2008. With these minor but important changes in the dates, the government has made clear that it is impossible that Nikol Pashinyan could have been involved in any illegal events in Yerevan on March 1, 2008, that the charges are fundamentally invalid, and must be dropped. Now, what this means for those police and officials who have testified that Pashinyan was in fact in Yerevan on that date, I don't know - I hope they will not be reprimanded for their apparent perjury.

With this most recent move, the authorities have shown that they have truly turned over a new leaf, and are willing to make democracy and human rights a true priority in Armenia. The court will have no choice but to drop the charges against Pashinyan, and set him free. What's next? Will they reveal documents or videos that show undeniable proof that the order for March 1 was given by individuals high up in the government? Will the authorities come forth and say their position as negotiators on behalf of the Republic of Armenia is compromised, and voluntarily step back? Could Sargsyan's resignation be next?

Who knows. But, the authorities should be commended for this selfless act. I can't wait to see what's next...

[Note: this is obviously quite a sarcastic post. The fact is, that the authorities couldn't even get the dates right. So now we have an illegitimate and oppressive regime that can't even come up with good lies and excuses. Hey, guys, at least check your dates. It's a little embarassing when you guys mess up so badly. If you need help, just ask, ok?]

Serzh, jan?... Bazaz, jan? - No, it's Nikol, jan...

Watching the trials of the other political prisoners, I learned that the courts in Armenia have a much more personal nature that those I am used to seeing. Having the defendant be an active part of their own defense (e.g. Jhangiryan) and an active part of the evolving courtroom dynamic (e.g. the trial of the seven), is something I quickly became accustomed to. So maybe the bit on a1plus of Pashinyan's trial from the other day was just another manifestation of the same.
Pashinyan is asking the witness some questions himself - people moved forward, why did they stop where they did, he asks? He gently and warmly persists in trying to get an answer. And the witness answers "Nikol, jan [dear], it was two years ago, I can't remember those details."
She turns directly to Pashinyan and says, Nikol, jan,... she is sincere, and upset, but she doesn't seem to blame Pashinyan...
She does not give an answer to the judge (who was also guiding her to answer the question) of: I don't know, or I don't remember; she does not show anger towards the person asking the question, which would be easiest; nor does she say I don't know, or, Why or how would I remember that...

Now maybe this is just part of a different dynamic that exists as a norm in the court system in Armenia. But that familiarity, that comfort, is not something I can imagine a witness feeling toward someone whom they do not trust... I cannot imagine that during Serzh Sargsyan's trial one day, someone will say, Serzh, jan... or Bazaz, jan,... Robert, jan...

[start at 1:21 min]

Name that Hand!!!

Humanity - the abilities of humans - constantly amaze me. At first, Armenian government officials were able to say without a doubt, without any concrete zoological evidence provided, that teeth and jaw bits found on the ground after March 1 were porcine, and not human. And now, witnesses are able to recognize Nikol Pashinyan's leg. My guess is that it was covered in pants and shoes, since I don't remember the last time I saw a grown man wear shorts in Armenia - especially one who is involved in political activity. So that would seem to make it a little more less reliable, since we can change our pants and our shoes. And, believe it or not, someone else may have the same pants, and even the same shoes...

But let's play "Name that Hand" - below are pictures of the naked hands, which are usually considered more unique and so should be easier to recognize, of famous people in Armenia and throughout the world.... Do you know who they belong to?

Keeping it in the family

How do we, as humans commit to people? What makes bonds strong?...
We find similarities. We do favors and practice reciprocity. We make promises. We make threats. We use money.
And what makes any bond even tighter, stronger?
Family.

About two weeks ago, on October 17, Hovik Abrahamyan's (aka "Muk," speaker of the NA of the RoA) son married the daughter of Gagik Tsarukyan (aka "Dodi Gago," who is a member of the NA)
And just the other day, on October 31, Serzh Sargsyan's daughter married the nephew of the wife of Armenian Constitutional Court chairman.

I wish the best for the young couples - this isn't about them.
What I am concerned about are the repercussions that the merging of these families will have on politics in Armenia.

As Lragir entitled their recent piece, it's a FEUDAL HUMAN TRAGEDY.

Pashinyan is running for Parliament ...

In a move somewhat reminiscent of Ter-Petrosyan's bid for the Mayoral seat, Pashinyan has announced his candidacy for a vacant MP position.
Not only that, but Suren Sureniants, who was going to run for the same position, is not going to, and is backing Pashinyan.
Beautiful, just Beautiful.

A1plus article
RFE/RL article

The question is, will the banditocracy let it even happen?

Airports, Fruits, Banks and Mail...

Ever since the Dutch head of the Armenian Postal Service (HayPost) was beaten up not once, but twice, and it seems "encouraged" to leave, I've been curious to find out who took over, especially since there were a number of rumors at that time. I checked their website, even, but did not find any useful information regarding my question. Lragir published a piece today about HayPost, so naturally I read it. The first helpful terms I came across were:

“Haypost Trust Management” company director Juan Pablo Gechidjian

so I googled Juan Pabldo Gechidjian. ALL of the information below was found through web research - which we all know is not completely reliable, and in some cases is completely false - I would very much appreciate any corrections, verifications, etc... That being said, it is at the least entertaining to follow the trails.

It turns out Juan Pablo Gechidjian is an Argentian Armenian, and is indeed the Company Director at HayPost. He is also the Executive Director of Armenia International Airport CJSC/Airport Director. He is also a Board Member of Converse Bank. He has also represented Advanced Global Investments LLC to Converse Bank, at least twice (6/29/07 and 6/5/08). According to European Banking Resources online website:

The bank was established in 1993 as a "North Armenian" shareholding bank. In 1997 it was reorganized as "Converse Bank" CJSC. In February 2007 "Advanced Global Investments" LLC, a US based company controlled by Eduardo Ernekian bought 95% of Converse bank shares. Remaining 5% of shares belong to Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin Catholicosate.

But let's go back a minute. HayPost company was taken over by Eurnekian Group in 2006. Eduardo Eurnekian is a very wealthy businessman from Argentina. He owns/directs Corporacion America, which has multiple sub-companies including: Tierras de Armenia (Hayastani Hogher), Fruitfull Armenia, Zvartnots Airport, and DutyFree and Unitec.
Martin Eurnekian (unclear if he is a relation) is the CEO of American International Airport, which is part of Corporacion America.
Matias Gainza Eurnekian, the nephew of Eduardo Eurnekian, is a Board member of Converse Bank (I think as of May 11, 2009). He is also the Director of Unitec (see above) which belongs to Corporacion American.
Continued googling found that Tierras de Armenia (see above) and Max Group ("owned by Harutiun Pambukian, a parliamentarian close to former President Robert Kocharian") were involved in a joint venture. ["The president of Max Group, businessman Harutyun Pambukyan. Pambukyan owns a poultry plant, restaurants, and other businesses. He was responsible for bringing to Armenia the offshore company, Midland Resources, which bought the Armenian electricity network. He is a shareholder in Midland." Hetq]

Why is this interesting to me? I'm not so sure myself. I am not trained or overly interested in international corporate law or business, and I definitely don't know what is considered just cold hard business, and what goes over that line. And I'm not against a successful company or individual owning multiple different businesses in different arenas - that's business. But it all seems pretty circular, somehow. Not to mention that I seem to remember that Eurnekian has been close with both Kocharyan and Sargsyan in the past, with multiple meetings. In fact, Kocharyan gave Eurnekian a medal. He has also been a large donor to the All Armenia Fund - which is great, except that over time concern has arisen that the Fund's accounting has become questionable.

So what's the issue, and what does this have to do with the Dutch? Well, after being beaten up twice (7/10/08 and 10/15/08), General-Director of HayPost CJSC Hans Boon left the country. Mr Boon gave an interview to HayInfo back in December of 2008. In this interview, he explains that a certain plan was laid out before HayPost, and certain criteria of advancement were to be met. Many of them were fulfilled, some above and beyond. Those that were not fulfilled were, he seems to be saying, because the Armenian side did not fulfill/delayed/did not follow up on its portion of some of the criteria, and even posed obstacles. This meant that in the end, some of the required conditions were not met.

The reason of change stems from the requirements from the side of the Eurnekian Group, which were presented at the end of January 2008 as a condition to invest in Postbank.... [] Certain elements have not been fulfilled as the environment (legal, regulatory) posed obstacles..[]. At the request of the Eurnekian Group at the end of August 2008, the role was gradually limited and leading to the complete withdrawal of the Dutch side in December 2008.

He ends the interview by explaining that the path the then current new management was taking raised many questions.

It seems to me that the Dutch were basically pushed out, by the Armenian side reneging on their part of the bargain, and quickly someone else came in. And that was Eurnekian. Interestingly enough, he was also one of the names at the bottom of the Who's Who of Diasporans who signed the Open Letter in support of the protocols, as did Charles Aznavour (who now has a museum in Yerevan and is an Ambassador), Hrair Hovnanian (of the Armenian Assembly), Ruben Vardanian (Well known Businessman in Russia) and Artur Chilingarov (polar explorer turned Russian politician), to name a few.

There are many more connections to be made, the more I dig, the more I search and google, the more connections and more questions. Many of those named above have started large non-profit funds and renovated schools, hospitals, roads, homes, etc in Armenia. It really seems they have done some incredible humanitarian work.

Now if someone could just help me understand the rest of it.