The murder of military surgeon Vahe Avetyan last year was not the only incident in Armenia. Society has the habit of “adding them” and when an especially outrageous incident occurs a popular outbreak takes place, Avetik Ishkhanyan, Chairman of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia, told Tert.am.
“But for the deadly incident in the Harsnaqar restaurant [Vahe Avetyan’s murder], they would convict a couple of persons and nothing else,” he said.
According to Ishkhanyan, if the ‘Vahe Avetyan’ movement had not flagged, the deadly incident in Goris would not have occurred.
“In our case, we get enthusiastic for a short period and then out enthusiasm fades, which the authorities are well aware of,” Ishkhanyan said.
He recalled Levon Gulyan’s death at a police station in 2007, which “unfortunately, has been clean forgotten.”
In response to the same question, Artur Sakunts, Chairman of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office, told Tert.am that public discontent “forced Ruben Hairapetyan to resign.”
“However, his role in the murder has not been determined yet. We have more questions than answers,” Sakunts said.
On June 17, 2012, Vahe Avetyan, as well as his friends, was mercilessly beaten at the Harsnaqar restaurant. He died in hospital a few days later.
President of the Football Federation of Armenia Ruben Hairapetyan, who is owner of the Harsnaqar restaurant, said in court that he would have prevented the murder if he had been present.
The human rights defender Artur Sakunts, however, said: “Whatever he testifies in court now is not a ground for me. No investigation has been conducted to prove he is honest. I am not going to believe him.”
Ethnographer Hranush Kharatyan points out “culture of terror” in Armenia. The public discontent that followed Vahe Avetyan’s murder hardly produced any results.
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