YEREVAN (Yerkir.am)—The owner of the Harsnakar restaurant whose bodyguards brutally beat up three Army doctors, one whom died on Friday, resigned from parliament Tuesday evening amid wide-spread public outrage and criticism of Amrenia’s oligarchic behavior that resulted in the death of an Armed Forces official.
Pressure has been building for ruling Republican Party Parliament member Ruben Hayrapetyan to resign his parliament seat, after he and his party members failed to properly condemn the impunity with which his bodyguards acted. On Friday, Dr. Vahe Ayetyan succumbed to his injuries and died, leaving behind his wife and two children.
While seven people have been arrested for the beating, the muted reaction from the Republican Party elite, including Hayrapetyan himself and President Serzh Sarkisian has been widely criticized.
“I am the first to blame myself,” said Hayrapetyan. “I should have stopped such a tragedy, but I was unable to do it. Such an incident should not have taken occurred in a place affiliated with me and my family. I cannot forgive myself and I don’t know how to ask for forgiveness.”
He went on claim that his was morally bound to resign his post in parliament.
“I hope one day I can be forgiven by Vahe’s family,” said Hayrapetyan.
“I would give anything to have been physically present on that fateful evening to stop the fists from coming down on those young people and stop the tragedy that claimed a life, ruined a family left children orphaned,” said Hayrapetyan in his resignation letter.
“I would give anything to be able to turn the time back. But I cannot. Vahe is no longer with us and I have to live with that. I have look in the eyes of his family members and I don’t know how I’m going to that,” added Hayrapetyan.
Hayrapetyan, also known as “Nemets Rubo,” is a known oligarch who owns numerous business ventures, among them the Bjni mineral water company (which bottles Bjni and Noy), a hotel also called Harsnakar on Lake Sevan, and a bank. He is also the president of Armenia’s Football Federation.
Although Hayrapetyan maintains he had no connection with the beating, his personal bodyguard, Garik Markaryan, allegedly inflicted the fatal injuries on Avetyan.
Hayrapetyan’s resignation followed reports that he visited the Presidential Palace earlier in the evening for a discussion on the events with the president.
And what about accountability… ? Reparations…? Justice and the law…? None… This is what happens when a country is run by self serving gangsters.
Glad to see the Armenian people are rising up and challenging the current ruling Republican Party and specifically against MP Ruben Hayrapetyan…its extremely disheartening to see the way they are behaving…Hopefully the Armenian population can continue fighting against these oligarchical thugs and in time establish the rule of law.
Don’t worry he will be back next year as a minister, just like another oligarch Gagik Beklaryan who was the mayor of the Yerevan and after kidnapping and beaten one of the Serj Sarkisyan’s staff had been taken from his post. This year Sarkisyan gave him higher job, he is a minister now. Whatever is happening in Yerevan right now is very hard to explain. I think we are watching an endless tragedy and just closing our eyes.We need to wake up and take an action.Otherwise it is going to be very late.
What a tragedy to kill any human…
A doctor …Who serves people…!
How many years he studied day and night to become a doctor …
Are we living in Turkey during genocide
Do we have scavengers there…!
The person who killed… must to be killed the same way…!
Why M.P appoint such horrible people …
He can be killed as well…!
How he trusts them…
I never heard that an Armenian can kill…
He can’t be other than a illiterate mad…!
Sylva
eye for eye, in armenia it should be tolerated, so they dont try to over rule each other ! !!!
Kna merir yegour sirem !! kazanner.
Before celebrating the news, people should remember of a similar story which happened with Gagik
Beglarian less than two years ago in December 2010. Beglarian was the mayor of Yerevan and was forced to resign after beating up a member of President Serzh Sarkisian’s staff :
At that time Sarkisian was quoted as saying : “The president has repeatedly made clear his position on such deeds. Namely, such a conduct is unacceptable and intolerable. The more so in the case of a state official.”
http://asbarez.com/89876/mired-in-controversy-yerevan-mayor-resigns-over-assault-allegations/
Guess what happened less than two years later :
First, Beglarian was nominated on the Republican Party’s proportional electoral ballot for the parliamentary elections in March 2012.
Second, Beglarian was nominated as the minister of transport in June 2012.
http://www.gov.am/en/gov-members/528/
People should be aware that the business relations of Hayrapetyan and President Sarkisian are so intertwined that Sarkisian can not get ride of Hayrapetyan. Be sure that Hayrapetyan will come back as an MP or a minister IF Sarkisian is reelected in February 2013.
This tragedy is symptomatic of the present oligarchic regime’s brutal character. Nothing will change for the better in Armenia until a truly social-democratic order replaces this neo-feodal anomaly that passes as a government whose legitimacy was questionable from day one.
In a country where law and order control by oligarchy MPs and government officials, the rest of Armenian population, should carry guns, for their own protection, when they are visiting oligarchy controlled businesses and restaurants in case of vicious attack by those well paid animals, called bodyguards!!
i blame th Armenian tv its like they want Armenia to have murders everyday you see on tv gangster movies how armenians are killing eacht other
90% of the Armenian series on tv is about murderes gangster money criminals they should ban all this thing
Such thing was not known in Armenia 5 years ago since the Armenian tv began showing Armenians killing each other in videos
Entire Armenia is in hands of oligarchs!
Resigning only from his MP post?? He should be jailed and be accountable for all that happened. The restaurant should be closed (at least for some time, for God’s sake!!) His arrogance shows in the tape when having an interview with journalists. Who are this people?? What has given them the right to go this far?? In a lawless place it is hard to live and work. Is there hope that these things will be corrected?? For hundreds of years we haven’t had government, and now without a good leadership, նմանում ենք առանց հովիւ մնացած հոտի որ վազում ենք չգիտենք ուր . . . . . . .
This is an awful turn of events. It should not happen in modern day Armenia when we boast of being a democratic society with equal rights for all its citizens. And yet we (and the rulling party leader – the President) allow it to go on and disappointingly fails to speak out against such behaviors from body guards.
Now he needs to be punished for all those crimes he has confessed to in this video: http://youtu.be/Rnkg82tYZBg
Another thing to point out is that the Turks and other Mongol people were responsible for destroying great ancient civilizations. Look at Egypt. Egypt was a great ancient empire but modern Egypt is a backwards and screwed up country. The Mamluks ( a type of Turk) gained control of Egypt and helped to destroy it.
Նախ խորապէս վշտակցում ենք Դոկտ. Վահէ Այեթեանի ընտանիքին ու բոլոր պարագաներին ու բանակայիններին իր դառնաղէտ մահւան առթիւ, որը պատահեց անընդունելի բռնարարքի արդիւնքում: Խստօրէն մեղադրում ու քննադատում ենք Պրն. Ռուբէն Հայրապետեանի անհեռատես նախաձեռնութիւնը, ըստ որի սանձարձակ եւ անխոհեմ մարդկանց է վստահել «Հարսնաքար» ճաշարանի հսկողութիւնը: Նման բռնարարքներ, վստահաբար, բացասական ներգործութիւն ունեն թէ հայրենի ժողովրդի եւ թէ սփիւռքահայութեան վրայ: Կասկած չկայ, որ այսուհետեւ որեւէ անհատ, նոյնիսկ օտարերկրացի չի ցանկանայ «Հարսնաքար» ճաշարանը մտնել խուսափելու համար նման բռնարարքների հաւանականութիւնից: Ընդհանուր առմամբ՝ որեւէ հայի, մանաւանդ բանակայինի կորուստը վնաս է մեր հայրենիքի ապահովութեան ու հզօրութեան գործընթացին:
Նախագահ Սերժ Սարգսեանից պահանջում ենք, որ օրինական ճամբով հարկ ու պատշաճը կարգադրի, որպէսզի նման բռնարարքներ թոյլ չտրւեն, եւ բոլոր յանցաւորները կրեն իրենց արժանի պատիժը: Ինչպէս նաեւ՝ արդար հատուցում տրւի սգակիր ընտանիքին:
Bunch of skunks running Armenia
After a while of living the parliament, he will be point as one of the ministers. The same has happen for Mr. Gagik Beglaryan. What do you think?
Big deal, he resigned what do you expect from a country that the mayor of Yerevan a while back beat the security officer of the president because he told the mayors wife to move to the next seat, my God what is wrong with the people of Armenia,One arab in Tunisia changed the whole reagen yet we can not find one Armenian afther 20 years to save 2 million people that are hostage in there country from Lefic same,Dode Gago,and the likes.
Where is the armey,one general, one colonel, please do something,Take the president hostage, until he changes things for the better, keep him in the barracks, and you will be remembered as hero of the nation.
I WILL NOT GIVE ONE MORE PENNY TO A LAWLESS COUNTRY OF CRIMINALS, MURDERERS, THIEVES AND OLIGARCHS. IF THIS “NEMETS RUBO” IS A MILLIONAIRE LET HIM GIVE SOME MONEY TO ARMENIA’S POOR FARMERS AND PEASANTS. FROM NOW ON DIASPORA DOLLARS MUST SERVE DIASPORA CAUSES, NOT BE BLINDLY SENT OVER THERE WHILE SERJ SARKISSIAN AND HIS “RUBOS” LAUGH AT US!!!!
And your answer is to stay in the Diaspora? Have you heard of the term, ‘white genocide’?
I was wondering why K.Kerkorian donated all the millions to U.C.L.A. Maybe he knew what was going on in Armenia.
This is the tragedy of the Karabagh clan whose head is Serge Sarkisian has highjacked the Armenian govenrment and used it to make themselves powerful and wealthier. Serge Sarkissian is so corrupt and he will open the borders with Turkey and this will lead to the destruction of Armenia. The Turks will highjack the Armenian economy and Turkish businessmen will marry Hayastansi woman and this will cause an ethnic and cultural genocide of the Armenians. That is what the Turks want. It would be better to deal with the Azeris to establish oil pipeline from Azerbajian through Armenia to Turkey but MAINTAIN CLOSED BORDERS.If this would take giving up parts of Karabagh, that would be worth it.
Only a turk would talk like that? Give up Artsakh to azeri’s to have oil pipelines??? How old are you?
Rubo messed up big. He is not likely to come back, he should be happy that the government will not go after him. Rubo has beef with Gago Tsarukyan, and now with the defense minister as well. He brought the votes for May’s parliamentary elections, he may bring in votes for next years presidential elections but after that there aren’t elections for 4 more years. Meaning Sargsyan can tell him ‘thanks for the votes, now go run your business’.
Opening the borders with Turkey will be the greatest disaster in Armenian history. The Turks want to destroy Armenia through an economic takeover. The Karabagh clan of Serge Sarkissian is so corrupt that they will allow this to happen. Opening the borders means that Turks will flood into Armenia and destroy the country. That is what they want.Nothing good will come from that. Anything is better than opening the border with Turkey. The Turks and Azeris have a fantasy of uniting Turkey and Azerbajian and Armenia is in the way of their pan-turkic fantasy. ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN OPENING THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER.
we will do neither
I just read all the comments on this page concerning the ologarchs, and their power in the government set up.
WHY DON’T WE START FLOODING THE GOVERNMENT WITH LETTERS, E-MAILS AND SO ON. Telling them what we think about the oligarchs, and thieve millionaires in the country.
I am sure there are some lawyers in the diaspora that can write the content of the petition accordingly.
We, as diaspora Armenians we can express our disgust, without being AFRAID retaliation.
The Republican Party under the leadership of Serzh has become the root cause of corruption,criminal activity,fraud,and Oligarchy.
Keep clapping these criminals and keep receiving their devalued state medals which they are giving out like confetti in order to keep your mouth shut.
Dear Friends: we are circulating this Petition to give it one final push to reach our intended goal of 5000 signatures before we mail/fax this petition, along with the signatures, to FIFA/UEFA.
http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/uefa-and-fifa-administration-resignation-of-ruben-hayrapetyan
look at picture and see who they are, take in care of our Fatherland, this bastards has only Armenian names nothing to do with Armenia and Armenians,only let get Diasporas dollars and put their packets,Mother F , as world Armenians has to come together,We must put them all to jail,hand on all their houses,stores,and their bank accounts all over the world,teach other bustards to stop live free,while others don’t have any future.and runing a wway to Turkey,married with muslims,
The real Armenian would take action by supporting/joining the A.R.F as a 16 year old in my opinion the only thing I see out of Dashnaks is lifetime of work on trying to reconstruct whether in Armenia or not.
“I lived only for what it was worth to die, and now I am ready to die for what it was worth living“-Garegin Njdeh – Dashnak Mentality Hah and whats still funny is we have Armenians calling him a traitor when can we have a future with disrespecting such a man? Get those Soviet films and shove them up ur asses
There bellies,cars – most modern parties <———– requesting transportation To Azeribaijan,Turkey
You people need to do yourselves a big favor and stop panicking and acting like children. If you want to see worst stuff take place take a quick look at your local daily news papers, regardless of where you live. At the end of the day, the thugs that committed the murder got arrested and they will go to jail and their boss was forced to resign from his political seat. What I see is a normal state of affairs here in sunny Armenia.