IS SEFILIAN ONE OF KARABAKH LIBERATORS OR FOREIGN CITIZEN?
By Marieta Khachatrian
AZG Armenian Daily
13/12/2006
The statement disseminated by RA Defense Ministry aroused certain
concerns yesterday. According to that statement, the U.S. sources have
definite proofs that Lebanese citizen Zhirayr Sefilian and his allies,
in particular, "The Union of Armenian Volunteers" organization, are
aimed to hinder the coming elections by committing extremist acts. It
was emphasized in the statement that the members of the abovementioned
organization called for taking certain steps sparing no forcible
methods for seizing the power in the republic. The statement is full of
various characterizations of Sefilian, who fought in the Karabakh war
in 1990s, is a commander who was awarded the Battle Cross medal. In
particular, in the statement he is called a foreign who is financed
by untrustworthy sources, a person who strives for having political
adventures. Besides, according to the statement, on December 10 the
relevant U.S. forces arrested Sefilian and instituted a criminal case
against Vardan Malkhasian, one of the leaders of the organization.
Yesterday, at "Armenia-Marriott" hotel, Aram Karapetian, leader of
"Nor Zhamanakner" opposition party and Samvel Haroutiunian, member
of "The Union of the Armenian Volunteers" initiative, as well as MP
Hmayak Hovhannisian, represented the details of the arrest. According
to them, Sefilian was arrested during the restaurant party organized by
"Vivacell."
In particular, on December 9, 15 members of the law enforcement bodies
in masks entered the hall, made everybody lay down on the floor, even
the pregnant wife of Sefilian, his friend and the wife of his friend
and arrested Sefilian. On the same day, about 40 members of initiative
were arrested, but were released few hours later. H. Hovhannisian
stated that on December 2, during the sitting nobody called for the
committing violence. He added that he will appeal to the Prosecutor’s
Office, and institute a criminal prosecution against 17 people
who held speeches at the sitting, including him. The opposition
representatives, present to the sitting, were mainly concerned that
all the abovementioned facts as well as the statement by the USA imply
deporting Mr. Sefilian in the same manner as Vahagn Chakhalian. The
opposition parliamentarians said that such state of things reminds
of the repressions of 1937 and may rouse the people’s hatred towards
the authorities.
Deputies Paruyr Hayrikian, Grigor Harutiunian, Michael Apresian,
Raphael Ghazarian and Garnik Margarian proposed to address the
Government a petition requesting to set the detainees free and grant
Armenian citizenship to Sefilian and thus prevent his deportation.
All these, considered in context with the possible suppression of
the Karabakh problem, the contradictory statements of the Armenian
and Azerbaijani sides, the adoption of the Constitution in Karabakh
(which delimitates the borders of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and
proclaims all its territories intangible), can make one think that
those events are linked somehow. Most probably Armenia’s firmness
in its intention not to yield its historical territories and the
constitutional definition of Karabakh’s borders force the international
structures and interested countries accept the present state of things
in Karabakh.
P.S. In the late evening we were informed by Sefilian’s lawyer that the
Government had made decision to deport Mr. Sefilian to Aleppo. "But
the authorities did not take two things into consideration," said
the lawyer, "first that Sefilian’s Lebanese passport is outdated
and that his wife is the assistant of the Lebanese Ambassador to
Armenia. Therefore Sefilian is subject to the articles of the Geneva
Convention".