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Letters from Diaspora in Support of Nareg Hartounian - 2

I was saddened to hear of Nareg Haroutunian's arrest. I have known him for almost 20 years. He loves Armenia and has dedicated his life to do good in Armenia and Artsakh. He and his family are involved in business there, as well as outside Armenia. They work for a living and fund their philanthropic activities accordingly. I have seen their work with my own eyes in the United States as well as Armenia.

Nareg's arrest reminds me of Ragip Zarakolu's arrest in Turkey last month. In both cases, the due process of law was invoked to put people Ragip and Nareg in jail, "pending trial." In both cases they have been put away by legal systems that are riddled with corruption. If they are lucky, they may be allowed to defend themselves in three months, or six, or twelve...

I suspect Nareg is being squeezed, like the mafia squeezes its victims, by corrupt people manipulating the Armenian legal process. This is not the first time people in Armenia are being treated in such a manner--hayasdantsi as well as Diaspora Armenians. Unfortunately, Armenia's laws are too often used as instruments of abuse, not protecting people.

I hope Nareg and his supporters will have the resources to get the best legal team in Armenia to put Armenia's legal process on trial. This is not only for Nareg Haroutunian's good, but also for Armenia. Otherwise, the parasites will thrive--and they will kill the body of their host, the people of Armenia.

Roland Mnatsakanyan
London

 

It is very hard to grasp that Armenia is still in Stalinism mode of operation in this democratic and advanced civilizes world.

In fairness, if there are any accusations against an individual, whether they are Armenians from Armenia or Diaspora, there should not be any punishment without fair due trial.

Civilized word demands that an individual is innocent until proven guilty by a jury of your peers.

Diaspora Armenians are looking to see openness in social and political state of our new Independent Armenia.

Myself and many Armenians in Diaspora believe that sooner or later the corruption in Armenia's government system will succumb to the true democracy.

Hovhannes Mardirossian
Chairman Technology and Education
Armenian Engineers and Scientist of America, NY NJ Section

Comments (6)

Dav
Avo...Threatening someone does not give you the right to charge, convict and imprison in one day. There is no legal code in the world that would support that. If he is guilty of a crime, let a trial with a proper defense settle that. And the facts are that he was arrested with 2 other colleagues, each of which was charged, tried and sentenced in one day without defense. This is against Armenian legal code. Period! You are missing the big picture here. It's not about the individual or even the few people involved in the process that you seem to be protecting so much. This is highlighting a bigger picture. I county of maybe 2.5 million that is being run by maybe 300-400 thugs. These thugs have taken the country and bullied their way to power. These guys have gotten wealthy by stealing and racketeering; now pretending to be businessmen and politicians - spitting on the idea of being a true entrepreneur and building from the ground up. These 300 must be removed for Armenia to get a fresh start. This is the only way and this is what this is really about.
george
Do you imagine a person who respects our heritage as he does, would steal from our Motherland which he loves so much ? Greed is not a word in he acknowledges...I too long to help Mer Hayastan but ......
alexander koundakjian
Nareg Hartounian has dedicated all of his life to Armenians and Armenia. I have never met a man who is more dedicated to the Armenian Cause both in Armenian and America. He has given from his heart and soul for the Armenian People both through his monetary contributions and his personal passions for artisitic endevours. If you doubt any of what I am saying you can go to www.naregatsi.org and find out for yourself how much of a partriot this man is.
Avo
@Dav - The fact is we don't know the details. Due process? I read in another article that he threatened someone, which is why he is in jail. So, there you have your due process. Anyway, most of what we are reading and hearing is speculation/gossip based.
Viken
Yes, Armenia is a nation, BUT with a corrupt government ...
Avo
Just because elite mega-corporations like Halliburton don't pay their fare share of the taxes, don't expect the IRS to allow us the people to do the same. Just because Bernie Madoff was a philanthropist, that does not mean his business was clean. Nareg seems like a wonderful humanbeing who got caught up with bad business partners and it suffering as a result. If his business was clean, I am sure he will be out soon. I don't want to see stuff like this impacting Armenia-diasporan relations. There are many Armos living in the hayrenik without any problems. Like anywhere else in the world, when in Armenia, be careful of who you associate with. Most disporans treat Armenia as if its an extension of their communities. No, Armenia is a - nation.

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