Evasive manuveurs regarding uranium mining in his district 

Tracking down Vahe Hakobyan, a HHK MP (ruling Republican Party), is a difficult task not only for voters in his District 38, but also for reporters like me. I wouldn’t have bothered to broach the matter of his “secretive behavior” had it not been for the fact that I needed to elicit some comments from him regarding the mining of uranium. MP Hakobyan rarely attends parliamentary sessions, even though the record shows that he almost never absent for a vote. When he does show up at the National Assembly, he keeps what could be best called a “low profile”. There are four doors leading in and out of the newly refurbished National Assembly session hall. They provide four different getaways for MP’s who wish to avoid bumping into “nosy” reporters. In order to meet up with MP Hakobyan I took a chance and took up a position outside one of the four doors. I got lucky that day; he chose to exit from my door. 

The MP is mum on uranium mining 

51 Syunik communities are included in MP Hakobyan’s district. Lernadzor, the rural community, where exploratory uranium mining is being conducted, is one of them. The vast majority of local residents oppose the mining project. Area civic organizations have dispatched a number of letters to MP Hakobyan on the issue. They’ve simply requested that he make his opinion on uranium mining in Syunik publicly known. He is their MP after all. MP Hakobyan has never replied; not once. “Why are they fighting against that project? If they don’t know why, then why do they oppose it? Why are they complaining so much,” MP Hakobyan said when confronted. He argues that the local populace shouldn’t get so worked up if they have no clue as to the government’s policies in that sector. “Everything has a price. We have to weigh the benefits of uranium and other ore mining against any possible disadvantages. Will the people win out or lose? There’s one segment of people who really have no understanding of the project. There is nothing to worry about,” MP Hakobyan said. When I asked if he was informed about the public sentiment, MP Hakobyan assured me that he’s in constant contact with his electorate, despite residing in Yerevan, Dilijan and Kapan. 

Office merry-go-round 

Before catching up with him at the recent parliamentary session, it took me a few days to establish contact with MP Hakobyan. No one was answering the office phone. His assistant was nowhere to be found as well. The HHK parliamentary faction office gave me telephone number and told me it was for his office. Turns out the number belongs to VH Stone Ltd. (formerly Sisian Granite Ltd.) The company is known for cutting and polishing various natural stones like granite, volcanic tufa and basalt. In Sisian, people say that VH Stone is owned by the MP’s family. When I called the number provided, a clerical employee told me that Vahe Hakobyan’s office had moved. She gave me the new number. “If you want to get in touch with Vahe Hakobyan, you have to go to Lamax Group,” she advised me. 

Zangezur mining interests 

Employees at the Yerevan office of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine told me that MP Hakobyan’s office was located on Khanjyan Street, at the offices of Zangezur Mining. (MP Hakobyan’s father, Maksim Hakobyan, is the Executive Director of the Combine) The Hakobyan family also owns Zangezur Mining and they own stock in the Combine as well. Back in 2003-2004, Vahe Hakobyan served as Zangezur Mining’s Director. The offices of Lamax Group are also located on Khanjyan Street. In fact the addresses of the two companies are the same. I went over to Lamax Group. I wasn’t allowed inside. An employee spoke to me through a closed door. It seems that company policy is to not let in people without a prior appointment; i.e. the uninvited. I was told that MP Hakobyan wasn’t around. The employee took my telephone number and promised to call me back. Never receiving the promised call, I phoned Lamax. Once again, MP Hakobyan was somewhere else. “I can’t say when he’ll be back. I don’t have his itinerary hours. He’s here every day, but they never tell me when that will be,” said the employee. 

Playing phone tag 

At the end of the day, one of MP Hakobyan’s acquaintances was brave enough to give me his cell phone number. Finally, I got to speak to him. I asked why he hadn’t responded to the letters sent by the civic organizations in his district. He said he wouldn’t discuss the matter over the phone, but invited me to his office that Friday; two days hence. When I told him I already had been to his office, MP Hakobyan denied that was his office. “The place on Khanjyan belongs to my brother. What connection do I have with it? He’s not my employee. The person you spoke to works for my brother. You’ve mixed the up. I am an MP and only engage in parliamentary affairs. That’s my brother’s business office,” Hakobyan told me on the phone. He then suggested that I visit the National Assembly on Friday and to make arrangements with his secretary. “But your secretary can’t be found at the National Assembly. She’s never there,” I said. To this, he responded, “So what can I do? You can’t do this, you can’t do that. What can you do? Isn’t this part of a reporter’s job?” I answered, “And the job of an MP and his secretary is to show up at the National Assembly; right?”

 Don’t poke your nose where it shouldn’t belong 

“Don’t tell me what I should be doing. You’re getting into matters that don’t concern you. I think that’s all I have to say,” he blurted out and hung up on me. Anahit Makaryan, MP Hakobyan’s assistant, also couldn’t arrange an appointment for me to see him. When I called her, she got all flustered and said the MP wasn’t even in Armenia. She then promised to relay my message when the MP returned. When I told Anahit Makaryan that MP Hakobyan had personally invited me to see him on Friday, she said, “If you’ve spoken to him, I don’t think there should be a problem. What I mean to say is I can’t guarantee anything, it’s up to him. If he is in the country, call me a day later so that I can tell you for sure.” A day later, I called. MP Hakobyan again wasn’t in Armenia. Anahit Makaryan also noted that she wasn’t authorized to check the reason for MP Hakobyan’s absence. Naturally, MP Hakobyan hadn’t left the country. He was simply avoiding me. He had already told me, in the National Assembly, that sometimes he only shows up once every ten days or so. 

The numbers don’t add up

 “I can sit there in my office or not. It depends,” he had said. The point I wish to make is this. If MP Hakobyan is only engaged in the affairs of parliament and those business offices have nothing to do with him, then how was he able to purchase two buildings and save up 1.6 billion AMD in income? The yearly salary of an Armenian MP is only 3.6 million AMD. Do the calculation. It turns out that in one year the MP had an income that exceeded his salary by 462 times. MP Hakobyan is currently building a three story home on Babayan Street in the Kanaker-Zeytoun district of Yerevan. As to his income, MP Hakobyan noted that, in accordance with his private property rights, he owns several enterprises from which he draws an income, but that he personally isn’t involved in the business operations. “I’m engaged in legislative and scientific pursuits,” he added. MP Hakobyan’s actual “business office” has almost always been and remains scattered in various companies, and not in the National Assembly. This, despite the fact that according to Article 8 (Activities of the Deputy) of the “National Assembly General Provisions”: Point1 - The working place of the Deputy shall be the residence of the National Assembly…