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Friday 11 April 2008

Yerevan 1 March events: death toll rises to 9...

Today 19-year old soldier Tigran Abgaryan died of "gunshot wounds" in one of Yerevan hospitals. A1+ reminds that previously MoD denied reports on casualties within army.

՚ՄԱՐՏԻ 1-Իՙ 9-ՐԴ ԶՈՀԸ

Մի քանի ժամ առաջ` ժամը 18.30-ի սահմաններում ՚Միքայելյանՙ հիվանդանոցում մահացել է 19-ամյա զինծառայող Տիգրան Աբգարյանը, որը վիրավորվել էր մարտի 1-ի լույս 2-ի գիշերը: Բժիշկները չեն կարողացել փրկել երիտաասարդի կյանքը, որը, ունեցել է պարոնոցային 6-րդ, 7-րդ ողների հրազենային-բեկորային կոտրվածքներ, իսկ վիրահատության ժամանակ պարզվել է, որ վնասվել է նաեւ ողնուղեղը

Այսպիսով` մարտի 1-ի զոհերի թիվը պաշտոնապես դարձավ 9-ը: Ի դեպ, մարտի 4-ին ԶՈՒ գլխավոր շտաբի պետ, գեներալ-գնդապետ Սեյրան Օհանյանը հայտարարել էր, որ զինված ուժերից զոհեր եւ վիրավորներ չկան:

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think I left a comment on your site a few weeks ago saying that a government source had told me that soldiers had died but nobody was releasing the news because they feared problems with the families of conscripts or something. I had been told that at least one soldier had died in hospital from wounds sustained by a broken bottle thrust into his stomach. I wasn't sure back then if I believed that as the excuse sounded somewhat bizarre, but this news makes me think differently now.

Anonymous said...

Onnik,
I think if there had been
casualties among the soldiers
not only the government would have released the info, but H1 would be constantly showing their pictures, their families, blaming opposition for their deaths, etc.
The government would not like to miss such a an opportunity for propaganda.
As for the rumours you heard,I never heard anything like that, but in any case it's not surprising
it is a common practice of secret services to spread unfounded rumours: KGB and CIA were doing this for 50 years, do I guess the Armenian secret serices are also doing their job well

artmika said...

According to RFE/RL report (in Armenian), this soldier was serving in police units.

Anonymous said...

Who will answer for this death? Where is Pashinyan? Where is LTP? Where is an admission of some of the guilt and fault of March 1, which until now has been heaped in total upon the authorities?

This was a man SERVING THE STATE, not the government, THE STATE.

One day, those following the radical opposition will understand the difference.

artmika said...

The ultimate responsibility lies on the authorities. They gave THE ORDERS. And this guy is the victim of it, like 8 others .

Anonymous said...

Reflective,
1.Pashinyan and Levon are actually the ones demanding an independet investigation into MArch 1 events
and it's the government which rejects it

Haik said...

The whole nation is a victim.
Why they just couldn't condact a fair elections? These jobs are for serving the people and not attacking them.
Look at his "inaguaration" he was completly alone in a ghost town.
Is he so blind or blinded by his ego?
Just let people to live as they choose to live. Go away and dont intervine with our lives.

Anonymous said...

I disagree that the responsibility lies with the authorities. I believe there were those doing everything possible to push for a confrontation, where it was reasonable to expect clashes to occur. Barricades, call to arms, calls for state servants to join the fight - this is not a peaceful demonstration any longer.

Acquitting the organizers of these demonstrations of all responsibility is not correct.

Anonymous said...

What ORDERS did the authorities give?

mayranoush said...

An independent investigation is needed to sort through this. But who will lead it? Who has the legitimacy to lead such an inquiry? Not the Europeans, maybe the UN?

But as for the argument that authorities are not to blame and that instead the blame lies with opposition leaders. I think that is absurd. For one thing, why was there no violence for the 10 days of demonstrations in Azatutyan Hraparak? The violence only began when the government ordered (yes Reflective, ORDERED) troops to clear the Square on March 1st.

An independent investigation can hopefully sort out the level of culpability on all sides. But to absolve the government of all responsibility, as some do, is not only ludicrous, but it is morally wrong.

artmika said...

+1

artmika said...

As to independent inquiry, I am not sure which international representation is more acceptable, but I believe it has to be an inquiry which is given a green light by both the authorities and the opposition, so that whatever conclusion they reach, it would be accepted.

Anonymous said...

I know I have said that I was done with you, but, Repetitive, I mean, reflective, you sound more ridiculous by the day. One of the original 8 victims was a policeman, also serving the state. What's your point? And more importantly, what's the difference? 9 ARMENIANS died, and that's all that should matter.

You cannot automatically assume that all 7 civilians were killed by state servicemen, just like you can't assume that the 2 state servicemen died at the hands of the demonstrators/opposition supporters/civilians or however you want to group them.

LTP or Nikol weren't responsible for ordering in the police at 6 in the morning to intimidate/disperse/beat up SLEEPING demonstrators just as they weren't responsible for whatever ensued on Leo/Paronyan streets in the dark.

I believe there were those doing everything possible to push for a confrontation, where it was reasonable to expect clashes to occur. Barricades, call to arms, calls for state servants to join the fight - this is not a peaceful demonstration any longer.
All nikol said was "ARM WITH STICKS AND STONES, WE HAVE TO DEFEND OURSELVES IF WE ARE ATTACKED". How hard is that to understand?

And they weren't attacked only because they were barricaded in. To reiterate, where Nikol, Aram Zavenich, Demirchyan, etc. were (by Myasnikyan's statue), no significant clashes occurred and there were no casualties. Further, he didn't tell "state servants" to join the fight, he told them to remember that there were women and children in the crowd before attacking.

Once again, what you are doing is wishing the facts that are plainly there for everyone to see were simply not there.

Anonymous said...

I do have to hand it to you. You have taken an ingenious position whereby you get to continually attack the opposition without having to defend the authorities. This on the face of it looks ridiculous because we're talking about 2 alternatives here and if you're backing SS, you have to do so on his merits, and you have the burden to defend him as well. You have somehow absolved yourself of that; again, whether you accept this or not, if you're going to attack LTP you are going to have to explain why SS is better .

But to I guess take away from the ridiculousness of your approach, you continually speak of this bright time in Armenia's near future when what you term as "real" opposition will spring up, not based racism (one of these days you have to explain to everyone how LTP's movement is based on racism), but true ideals.

I mean, clearly the current atmosphere of intimidating, arresting, beating up, killing members of the main opposition force in Armenia is going to inspire people to forge the magical opposition you speak of. (You HAVE to agree, regardless of whether you like LTP's movement or not, at present, they are one of only handful opposition groups in Armenia and without question the most populous one.)

artmika said...

1 March events official death toll rises to 10. So how many were killed in Yerevan?