"«Barev, Rob» / «Privet, Rob» : an Armenian story not to be forgotten" by Carlo Coppola

On September 24, 2001, an Armenian man from Georgia, Poghos Poghosyan, traveled to Armenia to attend a Charles Aznavour concert. The concert was held at the "Aragast" jazz café inside Yerevan's Poplavok Park, one of the city's central gardens, home to a quiet artificial lake where, today, unaware of the tragedy that once unfolded there, mothers and children play, while locals and tourists alike, then as now, sip coffee and share a meal.

When the concert ended, Poghosyan happened to be having coffee with friends — an unlucky coincidence, as it turned out. He watched as Aznavour came out first, greeted with a reverent "Privet, Charl," followed shortly after by the then-President of the Republic, Robert Kocharyan. Seeing the president pass by, Poghosyan echoed the same greeting, simply substituting the name — this time calling out "Privet, Rob." Whether the remark was meant as deliberate disrespect, affectionate familiarity, or simple horseplay has never been established. What is certain is that Kocharyan's bodyguards dragged him into the café's restroom and beat him so severely that he died.

A few days after the killing, Robert Kocharyan remarked, with striking cynicism, that if Poghos Poghosyan were still alive, he would probably have something else to say. One of the president's bodyguards, Aghamal Harutyunyan, known as "Kuku," was sentenced to just two years in prison — suspended — and was subsequently released on parole. In this way, Robert Kocharyan and his men made clear that anyone who entered the inner circle of "the Albanian" — as his predecessor had once nicknamed him — held not only power over life and death, but something like a 007's "license to kill."

Years later, in a display of what can only be called total impunity — a phenomenon that would merit serious study by psychologists and sociologists alike — Kocharyan, asked by a journalist about the case, claimed he did not even remember who Poghos Poghosyan was. The episode, however, was remembered clearly by nearly every Armenian citizen who had gained nothing from the arrogance of his unchecked power.

In the meantime, allegations and statements from anonymous sources have surfaced suggesting that the former president also ordered the killing of journalists who opposed him — among them, reportedly, one whose name remains unknown and who is said to have been forced into exile in England for years. It should be stressed that these claims rest on unnamed sources and have not been independently confirmed. If accurate, however, this episode too would point to Kocharyan's broader aim: silencing anyone who refused to praise him shamelessly or worship him as though he were a god.

In September 2014, a banner appeared outside the gates of the Armenian National Assembly bearing the words "Բարեւ, Ռոբ" ("Privet, Rob" — "Hello, Rob") — a phrase that read as an act of defiance not only against the still-too-persistent influence of former President Kocharyan, but against a broader state of affairs that remained unchanged.

As journalists from the Armenian television channel A1+ were covering the story and reporting on the banner, a heavyset man emerged from inside the grounds and obstructed the reporter's work, grabbing her camera. Not only that — the guard addressed the journalists with open disrespect, hurling insults at them and at their work. In an attempt to smooth things over, parliament subsequently issued a statement in which the man admitted to having been "perhaps a bit rude."