{"id":8530,"date":"2017-09-06T04:03:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-06T04:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/media-battle-v-corruption-devoured-mazut-case\/"},"modified":"2017-09-06T04:03:31","modified_gmt":"2017-09-06T04:03:31","slug":"media-battle-v-corruption-devoured-mazut-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/critique\/2017\/09\/06\/8530\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Battle v. Corruption: \u201cDevoured Mazut\u201d Case"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mediamart (Media Battle) is a digital game developed by the Media Initiatives Center [also responsible for this site] for journalism enthusiasts. Independent Armenia\u2019s media already has more than a quarter of a century of history, but media coverage of corruption (the fight against corruption) is more like a game in terms of effectiveness.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Case of the \u201cDevoured Mazut\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Independent Armenia\u2019s first corruption scandals were a \u201cheavy legacy of the past.\u201d This expression was used in the USSR to criticize the czar rule, but the culprit of the victims and enormous destruction of the1988 Spitak earthquake was Soviet rulers\u2019 bribery, the almost legalized theft of building materials.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, many of them managed to direct their pockets to the vast bulk of the enormous aid the country received, the \u201crevenues\u201d to possess the levers of distribution of the temporary dwellings and apartment units (I\u2019ve covered this topic in depth in my \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/media.am\/en\/1988-earthquake-coverage-article4\">Earthquake in Soviet Media<\/a>\u201d article series).<\/p>\n<p>After a change in administration, justice and order were still not established in the disaster area. <em>Azg<\/em> newspaper editor Hakob Avetikyan recalls the enigmatic fate of a huge intentionally unused donation during the term of the new government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jeJYQ6X5bgY\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In the early 90s, it was a chaotic situation in the disaster zone, while in Yerevan, entering any grocery store, you could see\u2026 bottles of French cognac. They were the 51-million-rubles purchase of Yerevan City Hall, made with the purpose of replenishing the municipal budget.<\/p>\n<p>The deal was criticized by the opposition press of the day, but ultimately corruption was not found to be a component.<\/p>\n<p>Not counting this surprising story \u2014 the first accusation of the crime of corruption carried out systematically and \u201cwith high patronage\u201d was probably proclaimed to be the \u201cdevoured mazut\u201d case.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What was the nature of the case? In 1992\u20131995, the situation was grave in Armenia, particularly in the energy sector. The termination of centralized heating, daily two-hour electricity supply. Until just a few years ago, there was 24-hour electricity, and cheap, 4 kopeks for 1 kilowatt (0.025% of the average salary); moreover, many reached an understanding with the \u201clight man\u201d and, putting money in his pocket, would stop the meter.<\/p>\n<p>And so news spread that sufficient mazut (fuel oil) had been imported into \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Armenian_energy_crisis_of_1990s\">dark and cold<\/a>\u201d Armenia, and electricity is produced, but the government is&nbsp;grounding the power&nbsp;to make the population poor. Member of the first to third convocations of the National Assembly Arshak Sadoyan became the pioneer of another theory, that the mazut was \u201cdevoured.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the resignation of first president of the Republic of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian (1998), with Sadoyan&#8217;s&nbsp;strong demand&nbsp;and new president Robert Kocharian\u2019s approval, a new parliamentary committee was established that was to study this matter, declaring its official purpose \u201cThe1992\u201399 import of energy suppliers and the use of produced electricity, as well as the effectiveness of individual loans to energy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Comprising the committee were members of Ter-Petrossian\u2019s opposition, one of whom, Manuk Gasparyan, called what happened \u201cplunder\u201d even before the findings were summarized.<\/p>\n<p>The committee\u2019s semi-annual activity report, published in June 2000 (the full version was published in <em>Hayots Ashkharh<\/em> newspaper, June 15, 2017), stated that \u201cin 1992\u201395, the volume of mazut not imported was 305 thousand tons, a total cost of about US$25 million.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Later, also heard in the National Assembly was \u201cThe report of the Government and Prosecutor General on the issues and conclusions outlined in the committee\u2019s report,\u201d which, according to the same newspaper, \u201cto put it mildly, disappointed everyone\u201d (\u201cThe Prosecutor\u2019s Arguments Weren\u2019t Impressive at This Time,\u201d <em>Hayots Ashkharh<\/em>, October 26, 2000).<\/p>\n<p>Of course, we must take into account that \u201ceveryone\u201d was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), with its media outlets, the other opposition forces of the early 90s. After this disappointment, they stopped being occupied with the \u201cdevoured mazut.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Before that too, the media\u2019s critical reports more so described the difficult situation than substantiated the accusations.<\/p>\n<p>Publishing a lengthy analytical piece was <em>Hayk<\/em>, the official paper of the \u201caccused,\u201d the former ruling party (\u201cCrater,\u201d March 5, 1999), which listed the people directly responsible for mazut\u2019s import or the disclosure of that case, who during Kocharian\u2019s rule later occupied higher positions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRA deputy energy minister Yervand Zakaryan should have brought fuel, resolving the front and back issues. \u2026 At the start of March 1993, one of the agenda items on several subsequent meetings of the operative headquarters adjunct to the government was where did the so-called purchased 70,000 tons of mazut go? \u2026 Let us say that the government never managed to find the answer to this question. \u2026 The government was satisfied by dismissing Yervand Zakaryan from his post on March 17, 1993. \u2026 The RA prime minister instructed general prosecutor Artavazd Gevorgyan to investigate the \u2018mazut case.\u2019 The prosecutor, in turn, assigned the investigation to special cases investigator, Supreme Council MP Aghvan Hovsepyan\u201d (March 5, 1999).<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/X3xxJnPT3rw\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Another media outlet intimately connected to Ter-Petrossian-ian circles, <em>Chorrord Inqnishkhanutyun<\/em>, urged Arshak Sadoyan to believe at least the new, \u201cKocharian-ian\u201d law enforcement bodies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot evidence, but shouting is what\u2019s important for Mazut Arshak. And our society, it is known, has always liked shrews. That the RA general prosecutor\u2019s office exercising all its possible and impossible efforts was unable to find even the committee\u2019s former delirium, $200 million, is not evidence and rationale for Mazut Arshak\u201d (\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.chi.am\/index.cfm?objectID=80F51EE0-8DC0-11E0-9A42005056A30FF7&amp;year=2001&amp;month=12&amp;legacyURL=011221\/01122104\">Energy Sting: Arshak Mazutich\u2019s Odyssey<\/a>,\u201d December 21, 2001).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The topic of the \u201cdevoured mazut\u201d experienced a brief revival in 2007, most likely \u201cahead\u201d of the 2008 presidential election, when Robert Kocharian\u2019s adviser, ARF member Bagrat Yesayan and Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh) vice-chair Andranik Hovakimyan debated at Hayeli Press Club.<\/p>\n<p><em>168 Zham<\/em> newspaper presented the parties\u2019 arguments in detail: \u201cAt the start of the debate, R. Kocharian\u2019s adviser stated that he has a few questions for the HHSh vice-chair that, according to him, the public is very much concerned about. And they were off\u2026 the \u2018<em>lolos<\/em>\u2019 of \u2019the dark and cold\u2019 years, mazut, and \u2018surrendering\u2019 Karabakh. In response, A. Hovakimyan said he wasn\u2019t expecting such primitive talk, but he nevertheless reminded him that the energy crisis that arose in almost all the post-Soviet countries was overcome first in Armenia, when HHSh was in power, in 1995, immediately after the ceasefire was established. The head of Hayeli who was moderating the discussion remarked that though, for example, when during WWII Leningrad was besieged, many people were starving and bore untold hardships, today those years are proudly remembered because it became possible to face those hardships and defeat the enemy\u201d (\u201cTheir Weapon is Demagogy,\u201d September 14, 2007).<\/p>\n<p>The last big reference to the \u201cdevoured mazut\u201d that is available through an online search was on Tert.am, in 2013, on occasion of the remote Arshak Sadoyan\u2013Hrant Bagratyan debate. The site with the headline \u201cSadoyan considers Bagratyan\u2019s statement about the \u2018devoured mazut\u2019 a blatant lie, although the archives say differently\u201d informs:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTert.am was unable to get official information about this from the Prosecutor General\u2019s Office. \u2026 According to the internet, \u2026 we found a 2004 <em>Chorrord Inqnishkhanutyun<\/em> archived news story that stated that in the report of the corresponding committee created with David Lokyan\u2019s leadership, apart from Hrazdan Thermal Power Plant Director Marat Martirosyan, no other name is mentioned in the \u2018mazut case,\u2019 who, according to <em>Chorrord Inqnishkhanutyun<\/em>, was arrested in a completely different case. \u2018It\u2019s noteworthy that later he was not only released, but also appeared in the ARF electoral list in 2003\u2019\u201d (\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.tert.am\/en\/news\/2013\/09\/29\/sadoyan-bagratyan-mazut\/878128\">Armenian ex-premier\u2019s statement \u2018barefaced lie\u2019 \u2014 Arshak Sadoyan<\/a>,\u201d September 29, 2013).<\/p>\n<p>It is remarkable that the site didn\u2019t continue the investigation, being satisfied with the bewilderment of the Office of the Prosecutor General\u2019s mysterious silence. And more surprising is that the media practically hasn\u2019t inquired into the abuses committed in 1998\u20131999, during Robert Kocharian\u2019s rule, when in just two years, the losses in the energy sector were far greater than in 1992\u20131995: $150 million.<\/p>\n<p>In Lragir.am chief editor Haykazn Ghahriyan\u2019s opinion, corruption became systemic during Robert Kocharian\u2019s rule. Prior to that there was negligence, wretchedness, and undoubtedly also abuses, but there was no corruption pyramid as such.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rtecenter\" dir=\"ltr\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cafRtrytpPs\" width=\"560\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Something else that\u2019s surprising: few are not only fundamental analyses on the \u201cdevoured mazut,\u201d but also the simple mention of mazut in the media of 1992\u20131995.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the mystery of the \u201cdevoured mazut\u201d can be solved through recovering the overall picture of that time, which is recovered also with the help of the media\u2019s daily reports.<\/p>\n<p>(To be continued.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"\/en\/lratun-corruption-1\">The start of the article series here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"rteright\"><strong>Vahram Martirosyan<br \/>\nHead of the Media Initiatives Center\u2019s Lratun media museum project<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mediamart (Media Battle) is a digital game developed by the Media Initiatives Center [also responsible for this site] for journalism enthusiasts. Independent Armenia\u2019s media already has more than a quarter of a century of history, but media coverage of corruption (the fight against corruption) is more like a game in terms of effectiveness. Case of<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/critique\/2017\/09\/06\/8530\/\"> Read the full article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-critique","author_posts-vahram-martirosyan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}