Robert Akopyan, exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
Another political scandal is growing in Armenia – the return of Suren Khachatryan to the position of the governor of the Syunik Region. The appointment is actively discussed on Armenian social networks and in civil society. Most of the assessments are negative. Apparently, many people view Khachatryan’s assignment as confirmation of the criminal character of certain Armenian authorities.
Suren Khachatryan is a significant figure for modern Armenia. He is hardly an intelligent person or a serious manager. But he has the main skill which is necessary for a good career in Armenia – he participated in the Karabakh war and was loyal to the “Karabakh clan”, which was headed by President Serge Sargsyan.
Moreover, it is no secret that Khachatryan is connected with Armenian criminals. Some even accused Khachatryan of control of drug transits from Iran and Afghanistan and further to Russia, but the accusations were not proved by serious evidence. In Armenia, Khachatryan is called “Liska”, his criminal nickname.
Even though many people were surprised that Khachatryan was assigned to the governor’s position, for many years till June 2013 he had been the head of Syunik. At that time Khachatryan had a conflict with another powerful clan in Syunik – the Budagyans. As a result, Artak Budagyan was killed near the house of Khachatryan under strange circumstances. Many in Armenia were sure that Khachatryan killed Budagyan personally, but the investigation didn’t find he was involved into the crime. However, Khachatryan’s son was arrested for some time.
According to independent Armenian experts, the appointment of Khachatryan is connected with two factors. First of all, the Armenian authorities are preparing for providing constitutional reforms, which will enable the current president Serge Sargsyan to remain in power after the end of his second term. For instance, it is expected that some presidential powers will be given to the parliament and the government, and after that Sargsyan will be elected Prime Minister or the parliamentary chairman. In the Armenian reality, voting for such an important issue for the Karabakh clan will demand mobilization of all administrative resources. Khachatryan is well-known for his talent in providing the necessary number of votes in elections in his region.
Secondly, in the context of Khachatryan’s appointment, information on the resignation of Vage Akopyan from the position of the Syunik Regions’ head paled into insignificance. Vage Akopyan is son of Maxim Akopyan, who heads the copper-molybdenum combine in the occupied Zangezur Region of Azerbaijan; he is thought to be a placeman of the former Armenian president, Robert Kocharyan. In recent times Kocharyan has been heavily criticizing the Armenian authorities and hinting at his possible return to big politics. So the substitution of Akopyan with Khachatryan seems to be another battle in a small war inside the Karabakh clan.
Whatever the reasons for Khachatryan’s appointment are, Armenian civic society considers the mentioned processes as improvement of “the feudal-criminal system of governmental management” in the country. Pro-Western circles even predict further worsening of the situation after Armenia’s accession to the Customs Union and estrangement from Europe.
