The ongoing squabble between RoA National Assembly President Hovik Abrahamyan and Hovhannes Ghazaryan, nicknamed “Gazi Hovo”, the former Artashat Branch Manager of “HayRusGazArd”, periodically erupting into gunfire, seems to have entered a new stage.

Paytzar Nersisyan, Mr. Ghazaryan’s wife, says, “The cops come at all hours of the day or night to search the house whenever they please. They don’t even show any warrants. The last time it was just a piece of blank paper. They say they’ve been ordered to barge in by local police chief (Vahan Mamikonyan –A.D) and they’ll be fired if they don’t. How do I know where they are? If we lived in a nation of laws and there was a chance for a fair trial, these people now being pursued would hand themselves in. But that’s not the case. All of them have been sentenced to five years.”

As of May 20, Hovhannes Ghazaryan, his two sons and brother, Karen, Vilen and Mkrtich Ghazaryan, chauffeur Ashot Sargsyan and Arayik Gabrielyan, a friend, have been pursued by the police. Mrs. Paytzar Nersisyan says that it’s due to an argument that happened with the bodyguards of Hovik Abrahamyan’s son. In reality, the “argument” was the response of Hovhannes Ghazaryan over the fact that several days earlier they had opened gunfire on his house.

“Gazi Hovo” ‘ticks off’ Parliament Speaker Abrahamyan

“Gazi Hovo” and Parliament Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan used to be very close pals. According to Mrs. Nersisyan, certain rumors were started by outside forces that led to a souring of their friendship. Things came to a head especially during the mayoral elections in the rural community of Mrgavan, Ararat Marz. Hovik Abrahamyan backed the incumbent mayor, Suren Davtyan, while Hovhannes Ghazaryan supported Armen Harutyunyan, the challenger. “Gazi Hovo’s” man Harutyunyan won the election and now serves as mayor. One of Hovhannes Ghazaryan’s friends, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated to us that on April 4, 2009, Hovhannes, the son of Hovik Abrahamyan’s brother, former MP Jonik Abrahamyan, went up to a driver working for the “Elegant” taxi fleet belonging to “Gazi Hovo” who was parked in the middle of the square in the town of Artashat and demanded they he leave the area. “He grabbed the driver, pushed him around, and then cursed him and his boss.”

Minutes later “Gazi Hovo’s” son Vilen shows up and gets into a quarrel with Hovhannes. The Ghazaryan family friend says that Vilen fired a few shots from a gas revolver into the air to frighten his opponent. Later on, Parliament Speaker Abrahamyan went to the media and reported that while his nephews were driving through the town of Artashat shots were heard from the rear and that the car was hit. “A fight broke out and the friends of his nephew proceeded to torch the taxis belonging to “Elegant”.

According to the police report issued at the time – On April 4, at around 11:30 pm, Aram Atanesyan, Hayk Gulabyan, Gegham Hakobyan, Aram Ghazaryan and an individual named Robert, proceeded to the “Elegant” taxi fleet and without the use of force commandeered the “VAZ-2107” taxis belonging to two cabbies, drove them to a gorge off the Nubarashen-Lanjazat road and broke the car windows and set the vehicles alight.

Parliament Speaker says the media ‘blew up’ the story

The second police statement reported that on the same day at around 9 pm, unknown individuals opened fire on the house belonging to Artur Ghazaryan, damaging the walls, windows at front door. At the time, the press reported that the police reports were drafted in such a way as to make it seem that the two incidents were not connected and that they were directed at “Gazi Hovo” personally. Thus, the chronology of events was incorrectly presented. In reality, Hovik Abrahamyan’s son and his bodyguards torched the cars first and then, not being satisfied with what they did, went back and shot up Artur Ghazaryan’s house.

“My son and my brother’s son were in Dubai at the time. I think the press just wanted to sensationalize the story and sell papers. There were some fisticuffs but the police took control of the situation and the guilty will be prosecuted,” responded the Parliament Speaker to a reporter’s question.

In actuality the culprit(s) who opened fire on the house of “Gazi Hovo’s” son remained in the dark and were never prosecuted. The only ones arrested for torching the taxis were Aram Atanesyan and Gegham Hakobyan. Furthermore, a “Baykal” type airgun was found during a search of the former’s apartment and a search of G. Hakobyan’s apartment turned up a 9 millimeter pistol, a bayonet and a bullet-proof vest. Both only spent a few days in jail.

Fists fly outside Ararat/Vayots Dzor Court

Two weeks after all this went down, these same individuals appeared in another police report, but this time as victims. According to the official report – On May 20 at around 11:30 am, in the vicinity of the Ararat and Vayots Dzor Regional Court Building, Hovhannes Ghazaryan, Artashat Branch Manager of “HayRusGazArd” and his brother, Mkrtich Ghazaryan, along with some others, proceeded to disturb the public peace and for ten minutes straight yelled out obscenities and beat-up A. Avagyan, Hayk Gulabyan, Arman Ghazaryan, Gegham Hakobyan, R. Sargsyan (probably the Robert who torched the taxis – AD) and Arman Atanesyan. They two later fled the scene. An all points bulletin has been issued as to their whereabouts.

“As they drove by the court building, those guys, the bodyguards of Hovik Abrahamyan’s son, started to hurl invectives at them. A scuffle erupted and Hovhannes Ghazaryan probably slapped one of them,” states a friend of Ghazaryan.

“They brought up a charge of ‘hooliganism’, but have you ever heard of one-sided hooliganism? Why haven’t they charged any of the other guys? Weren’t they also cursing their brains out and scuffling?” wonders Mrs. Paytzar Nersisyan. “At the time my younger son Artur was out of the country. He only came back three months ago. After returning, the police summoned him down to the station a few times in a normal fashion and he obliged. But a few days ago, they cut him off on the road and took him to the station. The very next day the cops did the same and held him in a cell behind bars, just like a regular prisoner. I ask you, why? What does he know about where the others are hiding? The police told him, ‘We’ll hold you here until they give themselves up’.”

Wife of “Gazi Hovo” – “If the police terror doesn’t stop, I’ll apply for political asylum”

Paytzar Nersisyan says that the police, on the excuse of having to check the trunks of the cars, have blocked the only road leading to the family run gas station for more than week and haven’t allowed their fleet of taxis to be fueled up. “At the beginning, they took the taxis to the lot by the station and thus halted the fleet from working. Now, they don’t let any of the drivers to park anywhere in the town and wait for calls from dispatch. They tell them to drive away. Patrol cars follow our taxis all over the place and our business is suffering. They’re doing everything they can to run the business into the ground. That’s their aim,” she argues.

Mrs. Nersisyan says that Aram, the son of the Parliament Speaker, and his brother’s son, Hovhannes, have been going around town promising a reward for the whereabouts of her son Artur. “It’s a big sum; half a million dollars. Where did they get that money? Could it be that Hovik Abrahamyan doesn’t know about any of this? If he doesn’t and he can’t govern the activities of his sons, then how the heck can he govern the National Assembly?” she queries, expressing amazement that President Sargsyan and the rest of the government tolerate this “reign of terror”, especially since her husband, Hovhannes Ghazaryan, worked for them for many years and supported Serzh Sargsyan’s candidacy for president.

“At first, I thought it best that no one else get involved. I figured that things would quiet down on their own. After all this is a region in Armenia. But now we see that nothing is possible. The cops are making our lives miserable day in and day out. I’m not even talking about the fact that those who greet us on the street are only being targeted for harassment by the police. Now, I’m sending off protest letters to all those in charge – the General Prosecutor, the President, the United Nations office, European Council, etc. If this reign of terror directed against us doesn’t stop, I’ll go to some of the foreign embassies in Yerevan and request political asylum,” concludes Paytzar Nersisyan.

Photos: Gagik Shamshyan