ARMENIA BURIES PRIME MINISTER
Story by Onnik Krikorian
EurasiaNet, NY
March 28 2007
Armenia said farewell March 28 to the longest serving prime minister
in its short history as an independent, post-Soviet state. Andranik
Markarian died on March 25 from a heart attack less than two months
before pivotal parliamentary elections.
Although the 55-year-old prime minister was known to be in poor health
and was a frequent visitor overseas for heart disease treatments,
his death nonetheless came as a shock to many. The event might well
prove one of the most significant political developments before
the May parliamentary vote, which is being framed as an important
democratization test for the South Caucasus state. [For details,
see the Eurasia Insight archive].
The political ramifications of Markarian’s death are so far unknown,
but any speculation on how it will affect the ruling Republican Party,
of which he was chairman, was lost on the hundreds of Armenian citizens
who converged on his home to pay their respects at a March 27 wake
intended for relatives, friends and political associates.
Hundreds waited for as long as two hours to get their chance to enter
his modest apartment, situated in a typical Soviet era block on the
outskirts of the capital, Yerevan.
That affinity for the ordinary may be how many people, including his
political opponents, many of whom attended the wake, will remember
Markarian. He had served as Armenia’s prime minister since 2000.
Although many Armenian officials are renowned for their lavish
lifestyles, the late prime minister was generally considered a more
modest man, known for treating political rivals and citizens alike
as his equals.
Delegations from the United States, Russia, Greece, the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe and fellow members of the Commonwealth of Independent
States were among those attending the funeral at the State Academic
Opera & Ballet Theater in central Yerevan. Turkey, which, along with
Azerbaijan, has no diplomatic relations with Armenia, sent its Georgian
ambassador to the ceremony.
Editor’s Note: Onnik Krikorian is a freelance journalist and
photographer from the United Kingdom based in the Republic of Armenia.