Armenia: President Cracks Down on Violent Behavior in Government Circles

The recent resignation of Yerevan Mayor Gagik Beglarian, followed by the dismissal of Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian, both apparently in connection with the beatings of lower-ranking government officials, is fueling hope among civil society activists that the Armenian government is no longer letting top officials act with impunity.

Beglarian’s resignation on December 8, an unprecedented event in Armenian domestic politics, was reportedly connected with the mayor’s alleged beating of a presidential office employee. The presidential aide supposedly incurred Beglarian’s displeasure during a performance in Yerevan given by opera tenor Placido Domingo.

Beglarian was unable to attend the December 3 concert and sit next to President Serzh Sargsyan; consequently, the mayor’s wife and a friend were asked not to occupy their seats next to Sargsyan. According to Armenian government protocol, only senior officials can sit next to the president during public events.

Over the weekend, media reports surfaced that, in response to the request that his wife to change her seat, Mayor Beglarian accosted a representative of the presidential protocol office after the concert and assaulted him. The pro-opposition daily Haykakan Zhamanak (“Armenian Times”) reported that Beglarian had been given a December 6 deadline to either apologize to the employee and the entire presidential protocol office, or to resign his post as mayor.

In comments to EurasiaNet.org, presidential aide Armen Arzumanian confirmed that the Haykakan Zhamanak story is “generally true.”

“The president of the Republic of Armenia has repeatedly voiced his steadfast stance against such actions,” said Arzumanian. “Such behavior is unacceptable and intolerable, especially when a state official is concerned.” Other presidential administration representatives cited an October 2008 speech to parliament in which Sargsyan asserted that no individual would escape punishment for using force to solve problems.

Whether or not criminal charges have been filed against Beglarian is unknown.

Beglarian, 46, is a member of the governing Republican Party of Armenia’s Executive Council and, even prior to the early December incident, had a reputation as a tough customer. His 2009 election as Yerevan mayor was based on the results of a City Council vote, and marked the first time the chief executive of the Armenian capital city had not been appointed by the president. At the time, the Republican Party hailed Beglarian’s election, in which he defeated ex-President Levon Ter-Petrosian, as “a step forward on the road to democracy.”

Under Armenian election law, a special election must be held within a month to select a new Yerevan mayor.

Already, the names of likely successors are being hotly debated. Deputy Mayor Taron Margarian, son of the late Prime Minister Andranik Margarian, is expected to be the government’s candidate. Republican Party spokesperson Eduard Sharmazanov said that the governing party will convene soon to endorse a candidate for the race.

Following on the heels of Beglarian’s resignation, Sargsyan issued a decree late on December 8 that dismissed Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian for "improper performance of his official duties.”

Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian said on December 9 that Danielian, another leading member of the governing party, had been dismissed for failing to “publicly punish” the head of the Service for Mandatory Execution of Judicial Acts, a ministry agency, Mihran Poghosian, for an alleged assault on an agency employee, RFE/RL reported. Various media outlets have alleged that Poghosian himself was responsible for the attack, but no official comment has been made.

“The justice minister did not follow the rules. I think this is unacceptable; I believe that the behavior of officials, especially toward their subordinates, is critical,” Sarkisian told a cabinet meeting.

Many Armenians lauded the president’s stance. “For many years, the authorities have gained victory [at the polls] by brute force and [election] falsifications, by involving criminal bosses; now it’s time they realize what force means,” said Svetlana Minasian, a 37-year-old mathematician.

Some Yerevan residents, such as Eduard Avanesian, a 55-year-old construction worker, did not believe Beglarian’s post-concert behavior was wrong. If a government employee offended the mayor’s wife, Beglarian was justified in acting the way he did, Avanesian suggested. “Still, I don’t know whether this will change anything in our life or not,” he added, in reference to Beglarian’s resignation.