In the last issue of “Hetq’s” English edition an article entitled “Commander Sefilyan is an “Undesirable” in the Eyes of the Authorities”. Given the unprecedented number of commentary responses it received we’ve decided to summarize the points raised regarding “Commander” Sefilyan, both pro and con, and the larger context in which his threatened deportation from Armenia is viewed.

At the outset, we should point out that all respondents agreed that Jirayr Sefilyan was indeed a self-sacrificing Armenian from the Diaspora who bravely fought in the Artsakh liberation struggle and is thus considered a national war hero. It appears that the differences of opinion stem from Mr. Sefilyan’s political activities and ideological positions after the war ended.

So why the need to deport this man who left his home in Lebanon to return to Armenia, who fought in the Karabakh War and who has applied for ROA and NKR citizenship on several occasions? What are the charges against him to warrant such drastic action? Before getting to the meat of the matter, we need to note recent developments in the Sefilyan case.

First of all, the government of Armenia appears intent to carry out the legal formalities in the deportation process despite the fact that the Administrative Court has sent back to the Police Department the latter’s original petition demand to have Sefilyan deported. The reason - because the Police Department, apparently in their haste to deport the man, forgot to mention Jirayr Sefilyan’s name as the plaintiff in the documentation.
Secondly, NKR President Bako Sahakyan is quoted as saying on May 27th that the recent petition of Mr. Sefilyan’s, for Karabakh citizenship, “Will not go unanswered. I will present our official position on the matter in my reply.”  Masis Mayilyan, the former Deputy Foreign Minister of the NKR, is also reported to have commented on Sefilyan’s citizenship request having stated that, “I believe that Commander Sefilyan has good grounds on which to be granted citizenship.” The former official, as quoted in the “Demo” newspaper, continues to say that even if the 2006 arrest of Sefilyan is to be considered lawful, his deportation would be a much more severe punishment than the jail time he has already served. Then Mr. Mayilyan touches on an aspect of the case that many of our respondents also broached, namely the symbolic significance of Sefilyan’s deportation in the larger national (read Diasporan) context. The former diplomat accurately observes that Commander Sefilyan’s deportation would have wide-ranging negative repercussions in the Diaspora and that the NKR, unlike the position of the ROA, would take the moral high ground by doing the right thing and granting Sefilyan some type of special residency status until its own citizenship law, now under review, is finalized and adopted.

Another interesting factor to be noted is the large number of Armenians living outside of the ROA who felt the need to speak out on this issue. Is it the fact that Jirayr Sefilyan himself is Diaspora-born and who, as a young man, made the decision to repatriate to Armenia driven by some inner urge to contribute to the development of the country that he considered his own? Inherent in this is the larger issue, raised by some of the respondents, as to whether present-day Armenia can actually be considered the adoptive homeland for all Armenians scattered throughout the world, irrespective of their original origins, western or eastern Armenia? Recently in the Republic of Armenia a law on dual citizenship was passed and is now in effect. It would seem that the government of Armenia has seen fit to facilitate the ‘repatriation’ to Armenia of those living in the Diaspora who wish to do so. As Hag Artesian states in his comment, “In my opinion, each Armenian person living in Diaspora, should have the right to emigrate and become full citizen of ROA.” On the face of it, such a sentiment, in principle, would likely meet with universal approval. Mihran Keheyian, another apparent Armenian from the Diaspora, echoes this sentiment by stating, “He must be left to live a free life in Armenia, it’s the home of all Armenians, no matter what they believe in. In his case he was a hero of Artsakh, therefore no matter what he has done wrong or not he must be allowed to stay in Armenia.”

The Diasporan response to the threat of deportation hanging over the head of Mr.Sefilyan is also reflected in the large number of emails sent by Armenians in Lebanon, Canada, France and elsewhere in support of the jailed freedom fighter, as reported by his Support Committee.

So why the need to deport this man who left his home in Lebanon to return to Armenia, who fought in the Karabakh War and who has applied for ROA and NKR citizenship on several occasions? What are the charges against him to warrant such drastic action?   

The facts of the case remain as mentioned in our original article. Jirayr Sefilyan was imprisoned for the “illegal possession” of a firearm. Rightly or wrongly Sefilyan has served his jail time for this offence and is soon to be released.

 Despite what readers like Gurgen surmise, “War hero or no war hero, Sefilian today poses a danger to the Armenian state. And the fact the he attempted to throw his weight behind the treasonous criminal Levon Petrosian is enough to get him expelled from the republic.” or Concerned Armenian allege, “Apparently, he and several others were organizing an armed group with the intention of assassinating Armenian official for planning to give Armenian lands to the Azeris. He and his armed group were getting ready to assassinate Armenian politicians simply based on vicious rumors and hearsay, stupid and dangerous rumors such as the widespread tale about Kocharyan selling Artsakh to the Azeris for 9 billion US dollars.” the fact remains that the government of Armenia has never offered substantive evidence as to why Sefilyan faces deportation. More to the point, those readers who agree with the deportation of Sefilyan seem more than ready to present what they believe are grounds to take such action-regardless of whether what they offer as “evidence” is essentially innuendo, hearsay and unsubstantiated rumor. Take for example the reasoning of Araik, one of our commentators, who states, “The deranged lunatic in question needs to be expelled from the Armenian Republic. Being a "war hero" does not give anybody the right to dictate national policy nor doe sit give one the right to threaten assassinations. Jirayr belongs in a third world nation.”

“Danger to the Armenian state”, “Deranged lunatic”, “Apparently organizing armed groups” - these seem to be the reasons why a tiny minority of readers seem willing to deport Sefilyan. Amazingly though, these readers fail to answer the following questions Why, if all this were actually true, hasn’t the government of Armenia charged Sefilyan with treason and being a security risk? What is it about Sefilyan’s hard-line stance regarding the Karabakh negotiations, i.e., not returning any of the liberated lands, that the government finds so disturbing? Is it because the present regime, is actually contemplating such a return of certain lands? or is it the fact that Sefilyan is quoted as saying, ““The work of this national movement to oust this clearly criminal regime must continue until victory...”

Thus the matter boils down to one of political persecution or crimes against the state. Given that the state has yet to specify what actual crimes Sefilyan is alleged to have committed against the state or conspired to commit, we are again faced with the question, as expressed by a majority of our readers, that the state’s case is far from credible. Vardan Partamyan expresses this widespread sentiment by stating, “I think that the deportation of Sefilian is the logical step of the police state that Armenia is today - scared and weak, all they can (and know how to) do is kill, imprison and, in this case, try to extort all the people who are potentially hazardous to the regime.” Marc Balian also expresses a similar sentiment and puts the issue in a wider pan-Armenian context, “It is time democracy dawns on Armenia. Show the world RA is heading in the right direction. Instead of forcing Armenians out of the Holy Fatherland, bring more of them to Armenia, giving us a chance to live in and build a free and prosperous homeland.”

Whatever, your views on the subject, we remain of the opinion that a healthy, constructive debate of the Sefilyan case and other issues now confronting the Republic of Armenia, demand the active participation of all individuals, whether in Armenia or the Diaspora, who regard the country as the homeland of all of us. Thank you all for your active participation.