In an interview with Aravot.am, journalist Arman Suleymanyan presents some details about the intentions of Vahan Martirosyan seeking a political asylum in Azerbaijan.
Prior to Vahan Martirosyan’s crossing the border with Azerbaijan, Arman Suleymanyan, 10 days ago, have met with him. Arman Suleymanyan told about this meeting, “I expressed my skepticism, in response to which he said he just needs to cross the border, the rest will come. He showed his new passport with a chip as he did not have a passport in the last two years. He said that the only thing remains for him is to go at four o’clock that day after the passport of his wife and the child and ahead.”
Arman Suleymanyan told that he is familiar with Vahan since two years. “The first time, I have seen at the Ministry of Education and Sciences on the issue of students when he began his mixed struggles. Then, we went to Georgia for shooting the famous reportage about making coffee, we took instruments from the scientists and off we went.”
During the meeting, Vahan also recalled their visit to Georgia, the Stepanavan “tired” checkpoint asking whether he can cross the border from here. Arman has replied that hardly it is possible as he is under the control of investigators. Arman Suleimanyan said that Vahan Martirosyan was constantly getting some phone calls during their conversation, trying to find someone who would guarantee to cross the border as he had some fears. Arman Suleymanyan could not know whether he was given this guarantee or not. Arman said, “I told him, do not go, stay, we will think again to see what we can do, he put forward the option of the lost child. He was very nervous, his hands were trembling, he said that he cannot stand these pressures and interrogations. He had not given the name of Azerbaijan, he roughly said, if I knew something like this, I would have handed him over. He was going “at risk”. He is not sure, otherwise he would not have made a change of the checkpoint.”
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Arman Suleymanyan conveyed that he understood that Vahan Martirosyan “does this trick of Azerbaijan to have a hundred percent guarantee that he is a politically oppressed to receive a hundred percent reasons to leave for Europe.” We asked him whether he was guided by the Azeri special services, the journalist replied, “No, he was saying that the theme had become so complicated that even Azerbaijan is writing about it.”
To our observation that everybody considers Vahan a traitor, however, whether his deed has justification, Arman Suleymanyan replied, “If you talk to his neighbors at Gajagortsneri Street, scared, without publication of the name, many of them will say that he was beaten by Sedrakyan’s bodyguards. With my little wit, he was just said that he has gone too far and will answer to Mher. What an interrogator! What a police! And he was intimidated and has not done the smartest thing in his life. But when the law is not operating and there is no protection, maybe he had found this way out as he had felt that the investigative bodies were reluctant to deal with it, and you know very well that the police had gone to machinations: they had published a phone conversation allegedly the husband and the wife were beating each other, which they cast on Mher. They did a trifling thing instead of conducting an investigation and finding out the following: either Vahan is foul-mouthed and he must be arrested for insulting the honor and the dignity of the parliamentarian, or actions should be taken that he would feel himself protected.”
To our observation that many are beaten and intimidated, but whether this is the solution, Arman Suleymanyan responded, “I also told him the same thing. I told him that he is not the first nor the last, I asked him to stay here and we will think over the situation again and do something. At that time, regarding the stolen money, he said that the woman was intimidated at the police station that her house was robbed. I said, if you go, you automatically become guilty. But she did not listen to me. Generally, after our going to Georgia, he was psychologically broke, he was every time asking me to cover and I was refusing because of the limited number of facts and the distortion. He had the tendency to distort the facts. For example, in Georgia, when we were already boiling the water, he said, let’s pour less water, and I said, we have come here, let’s understand that the quality of which is better. He also has a PR disease or has worked all his life, hence, a question arises with us about how he lives. He had suspicious things, he had psychologically mixed behavior, but still, no one deserves violence, everything could be solved as normal and not to cause any harm to the state, but everything proceeded in a street level.”
Arman Suleymanyan assumes that perhaps Vahan was instigated to such move in Georgia. “In Georgia, perhaps, it became clear that if you want to go to Europe, give Azerbaijan what is necessary and you will be provided. In Azerbaijan, he by large obtained the image of a political persecutor, which is a satisfactory way to open the roads for him to Europe. Baku is a transportation mean. It is seen from the text that it is was agreed to say such stupidity to guarantee him to go to Holland or Belgium.” Arman Suleymanyan said Vahan Martirosyan trusted him as a journalist, hence if he wants to correct the situation, he will definitely contact him. Arman has written to him but still there is no news.
In the conversation with us, Arman Suleymanyan concluded that if Vahan Martirosyan contacted him, the first question will be that he was saying that the Austrian Embassy to Georgia will open the door before him and the first press conference will be right from there, so what happened that this press conference took place in Baku.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
