EX-KARABAKH LEADER SILENT AFTER ‘INTERROGATION’
By Ruzanna Stepanian

Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
March 13 2007

Samvel Babayan, Nagorno-Karabakh’s former military leader increasingly
involved in Armenian politics, pointedly avoided any contacts with
media on Tuesday after being reportedly summoned to a feared security
agency for questioning.

Newspaper reports in Yerevan said Babayan and several members of his
Dashink (Alliance) party were interrogated by officers of the National
Security Service (NSS) on suspicion of illegal arms possession on
Monday. Some of them were said to have been briefly detained by the
Armenian successor to the Soviet KGB.

The NSS press service refused to confirm or deny the reports. "We
have no information about that yet," a spokesman told RFE/RL.

Babayan and his aides were also extremely tight-lipped, ignoring
repeated media inquiries throughout the day. Liana Terian, one of
Dashink’s top candidates for the May 12 parliamentary elections,
claimed at the party headquarters in Yerevan that the once powerful
general is too busy to provide explanations. She then told security
guards to order journalists away from the premises.

The reported interrogations are bound to be attributed to Dashink’s
active involvement in the Armenian election campaign. Babayan has
claimed to be in opposition to President Robert Kocharian ever since he
set up the party in late 2005, just over a year after his unexpected
release from a Karabakh prison. He had been serving a 14-year prison
sentence for a botched 2000 attempt on the life of Karabakh President
Arkady Ghukasian.

Dashink is contesting the elections under the system of proportional
representation and in some of Armenia’s 41 single-member districts.

Setting up one of the most intriguing individual contests, Babayan has
decided to challenge Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s controversial
brother Aleksandr in a constituency close to Karabakh.

The Yerevan newspaper "168 Zham" reported last week that the Armenian
authorities are considering declaring that Babayan is not eligible for
a parliament seat. Under Armenia’s constitution, only those Armenian
citizens who have permanently resided in the country for the past
five years can run for the National Assembly.

Babayan and his loyalists have repeatedly stated that he is eligible
to join the race, citing a 1989 act by the Soviet Armenian parliament
that declared Karabakh a part of Armenia. Kocharian and his allies
invoked the same document he controversially ran for president in
1998 less than a year after moving to Yerevan from Stepanakert.

According to "168 Zham," Babayan recently met unnamed "influential
officials" from the presidential administration and threatened to
appeal to the Constitutional Court in case he is not registered as
a candidate. "Samvel Babayan is ready to make serious and scandalous
revelations in the court," the paper said.

Incidentally, among the individuals who were seen entering the
Dashink offices on Tuesday was Kim Balayan, a Karabakh-born member
of the Constitutional Court. Contacted by RFE/RL later in the day,
Balayan denied discussing any political issues with Babayan. He said
he visited the former Karabakh strongman for "personal reasons" only.