Indian Students in Yerevan Demand Justice
Indian Students Protesting outside Parliament, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
Media coverage of today’s protest at the death of Indian student because of negligience on the part of the police and emergency services as well as alleged racism on the part of the Rector of Yerevan’s Medical University was lacking to say the least. Haykakan Zhamanak’s Hayg Gevorgyan was present as always, but apart from other journalists from RFE/RL, A1 Plus, Noyan Tapan and Hetq Online, Yerkir Media, Mir and Shant TV were the only broadcast outlets there to film the demonstration.
I didn’t see anyone from the state-controlled H1 and effectively state-controlled Armenia TV stations — something which appears to be true because friends tell me nothing was shown on the news. Anyway, A1 Plus already has a story in Armenian and English. [CORRECTION: Myrthe says that Armenia TV did show something although they were not present during the 5 hours of 6.5 hours that I was there unless they were filming secretly and clandestinely]
THE INDIAN STUDENTS LAUNCHED AN APPEAL
[09:17 pm] 20 April, 2006
Today at 1:30 p.m. Indian student of the Yerevan State Medical University Sandi Anchali fell down from the 6th floor. He died 5 minutes later after being taken to hospital. The Indian students assure that they wanted to give their friend first aid but the policemen and the Medical Department Dean Anna Sargsayn didn’t allow them saying that they must wait for an ambulance. The latter arrived in 50 minutes without any doctor, the necessary medicine and oxygen. The Indian students applied to the YSMU newly appointed Rector Gohar Kjalyan but the latter insulted them instead of offering her help.
About 800 Indian students of the Yerevan State Medical University launched an appeal in front of the RA Parliament with the posters, “Shame on the Rector,” “We seek justice” etc. The strike is determined by their discontent towards the new Rector of the University Gohar Kjalyan and the strike participants accuse her of the Indian’s death. They demand Gohar Kjalyan’s resignation.
The Vice-Rector Victor Sakyan and the Indian Embassy Secretary Mr. Bali met the strikers. They asked the students to return to the University where they could meet Gohar Kjalyan and the Indian Ambassador Rina Pandey. The students resisted and demanded the Rector to come to them. “When we turned to her for help she offended us and expelled from her room. And if she wants to see us now she is to come here. We shall stay here until she arrives or we shall miss the lessons and return to our country,” claims Indian student Navil Kumar who helped to take the injured friend to the ambulance.
By the way, there are various versions on Sandi Anchali’s death. Many of the students claim that he was a physiologically balanced boy and couldn’t have committed suicide. Others say that it could be a murder as Indians are disliked in Armenia.
At present the strikers are still in front of the NA and are going to spend the whole night there.
Actually, later in the evening Hetq’s Hasmik Hovhannisyan rang me to get back down quickly which I did. Eventually, the students marched to Yerevan’s Medical University and I appeared to be the only photographer around. A meeting is being held between the Indian Ambassador and the Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosian with the students where it is believed that the Rector will offer an apology.
However, as of leaving the meeting when I was told that it was private and no journalists were allowed to be present it doesn’t appear as though the students will accept anything less than the Rector’s resignation. Garo (AKA Christian Garbis) over at Notes from Hairenik has also posted something on today’s incident.
Thousands of students from India as well as other countries, such as China and Iran, study at Yerevan State University and have been for years now. Tuition fees in some situations are cheaper, admissions are less competitive, and technically students are studying abroad. Yerevan with its many academic institutions provides an ideal environment for studying.
But I must say that failing to provide services on time to someone who is indeed dying is unacceptable. It doesn’t matter who the person is or where he or she is from. I deal with the Armenian “to hell with it” and “it’s not my fault” attitudes on a daily basis here and it is infuriating. In this case it is utterly revolting.
Once again thanks Garo for alerting me to the demonstration after I stepped through the door upon arriving back in Yerevan after a trip to Berd.
Indian Students Protesting outside Parliament, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
I’ll post some photographs of the candlelight vigil outside the Armenian Parliament and the meeting at Yerevan Medical University before I had to leave in the next half hour. Incidently, Hasmik Hovhannisyan, the journalist I’ve been working with on Indians in Armenia, tells me that one Armenian dressed in civilian clothes, but standing with the police, was overheard to say “they’re [the Indians] now over a billion, so what’s one more one less?”
On a brighter note, my taxi driver bringing me home was distressed about the death of the student and the attitude of YSMU’s Rector when I told him after he enquired what was going on, and Hasmik tells me that other Armenians also were concerned including one old woman who burst into tears and hugged some Indian girls. Unfortunately, however, there were many more Armenians who laughed as they passed by, but I hope out of ignorance.
Update: The pictures from later on in the evening are posted below. Nanyaar also arrived at the demonstration after hours incommunicado with the police and says he’ll be posting something on his blog later. From speaking to Nanyaar? yesterday, regardless of whether the student’s death was an accident, suicide or something else, the emergency services were late, police apparently stopped Indian medical students from assisting him while they waited, and the Rector was apparently insulting when they complained.
I’m also told that this is not the first time that Indian students complain that they feel unprotected and discriminated against in Armenia. Nanyaar told me a few weeks ago about attacks on Indian students by rabiz in Yerevan and a general lack of concern from the Armenian police and Yerevan State Medical University regarding their complaints and concerns in general. As many Indian students pointed out, they pay a lot of money into YSMU and deserve better as well as obligatory protection under the law.
Indian Students Protesting outside Parliament, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
State Medical University, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
Indian Ambassador and Deputy Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Tigran Torosian, State Medical University, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006
Hats off to u Onnik….Great that atleast you have covered this genuine protest. Hell with the indifference of the concerned authorities resulting in the student’s death.
Senthilkumar
Comment by Senthilkumar — April 21, 2006 @ 12:04 am
What would we do without your candid reporting Onnik? Retribution in Armenia is a given. Incidentally, as an Armenian/American, I find it hard to believe that someone’s misfortune is scoffed at by my compatriots in the motherland.
Comment by Darwin Jamgochian — April 21, 2006 @ 5:18 am
I passed by the parliament last night on my way home and noticed the protest, but from the marshrutka I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I found out at home, because I accidentally came across it at a news bulletin. It was Armenia TV’s “Jam@”, so contrary to what you suspected, they did indeed pay attention to the protest and what lead up to it. They had some interviews on the spot. However, don’t ask me for any details of the bulletin, I was happy enough to understand enough to figure out what had happened. By the way, they mentioned it took even an hour for the ambulance to show up!
Comment by Myrthe — April 21, 2006 @ 8:37 am
No, Myrthe — Not contrary to my suspicions. First, you don’t say when you passed by and therefore as I was gone for 1-2 hours inbetween 2 visits, it means that Armenia TV turned up late. Alternatively, if they were there when I was there then it means that like H1 they are using cameras and microphones that are not marked for times when demonstrations are planned. Both H1 and Armenia TV are believed to have a direct role in the pushing state propaganda when elections are falsified and misreporting opposition protests. In this case, it is unlikley that they needed to hide with Indian students, but anyway.
Long and the short of it is that there were NO cameras marked with the H1 and Armenia TV logs when I was there earlier in the day, and no film crews at the night vigil when I arrived. At the meeting with the Indian Ambassador and Tigran Torosian in Yerevan State Medical University late last night, there were not journalists or film crews there. I can say that quite categorically because journalists were asked to leave and I was the only one outside the auditorium.
Anyway, no TV news film crews covered this demonstration as they normally would in any other country ie if Armenia TV was there with marked cameras and microphones they got there far too late and didn’t stay long. If they now use unmarked cameras and microphones for demonstrations it says a lot about how they’re perceived in Armenia. Regardless if some slot on Armenia TV covered it, I want to know if it made the main headlines on Armenia TV’s normal news programmes. I’m told by Zarchka that she didn’t see any news coverage when she was flicking through the channels yesterday.
Anyway, regarding news coverage of demonstrations, here’s an email I received from a MAJOR pro-democracy international organization yesterday which says it all, I think.
Incidently, this was also true for major opposition protests in Armenia since 2003. It’s also worth noting that apart from French-Armenian Max Sivaslian, Photolure and two young kids photographing, I saw NONE of Armenia’s “great” photojournalists cover this event. Experience has shown they only work on issues when there’s money in it and they steer clear from protests demonstrations in general.
Max Sivaslian and I, for example, along with Photolure and Arminfo were the only photographers that covered the presidential elections as photojournalists should have. Others didn’t even bother to turn up for the main protest demonstration in February and March 2003. In April 2004 one photojournalist even told me he wouldn’t risk getting his camera smashed by police even though it meant that he was effectively not doing his job.
Comment by Onnik — April 21, 2006 @ 9:04 am
What time I passed by seems irrelevant to me. I passed by in a marshrutka, so I couldn’t see if and what journalists were there. As I said, I only learned about the reason for the protest through tv. I just wanted to point out that the protest in whatever form did make it to the Armenia TV news. Which in no way should be taken as support for Armenia TV or the Armenian state sponsored/influenced media in general.
Comment by Myrthe — April 21, 2006 @ 11:37 am
It makes the difference in so much that apart from 1.5 hours that I was not there, there were no cameras or microphones marked with the Armenia TV logo. Either they were hiding or more likely they turned up for only a maximum of 1.5 hours of the 6 hours of procedings which should have been headline news in Yerevan.
Armenia TV sucks. Withdraw your financial support please, Mr Cafesjian, or get rid of Bagrat Sarkisyan.
Comment by Onnik — April 21, 2006 @ 12:40 pm
Onik, you are such a liar and an ass. You make an ass out of yourself every time you make an assumption, and you’re always wrong. Your mind is so twisted that you take a tragic story like this one to abuse and mock those who are not in anyway related to this story or the media’s coverage of this story. You are so far from the truth that you don’t realize you’re living in your own twisted make-believe world. You need a psychologist.
Comment by you are an idiot — April 21, 2006 @ 2:44 pm
I love it when stupid idiots react against issues that need to be tackled in Armenia so allowed the above comment to go through. Of course, the person making the comment is too cowardly to use their own name and more than that, can’t even give an example of something I’ve posted on this blog that has not been true or which has been a lie.
Basically, I love such comments coz they illustrate how stupid and far removed from reality such people are. Keep them coming. They make me realize that what I’m doing is hitting home. Anyway, to the anonymous person who’s hiding their identity, I know from your ip address that you’re in Armenia and I can guess who you are. Incidently, it’s usually those people that conceal their identity or hide behind masks that need a psychologist.
Anyway, for many reasons, it makes me especially happy to recieve this comment. Finally, real information is coming out from Armenia and its precisely this fact that concerns these people. Means I’m doing well in bursting their bubble in Armenia which is usually based on monopolizing connections in civil society in order to gain power, money or both.
BTW: The media and youth here is an issue because it’s part and parcel of the same corrupt and stagnant system that meant this student died. How the incident is being reported and not being reported is also starting to concern those Indian students I’ve spoken to.
Comment by Onnik — April 21, 2006 @ 2:57 pm
Racism in Armenia is alive and well. I remember a article by John Hughes, editor of Armenianow.com, remarking that he was dodging stones after a soccer match while a Polish team was visiting. His blond hair apparently didn’t sit well in his host country.
Comment by Darwin Jamgochian — April 21, 2006 @ 3:47 pm
Interestingly, Armenia Now didn’t cover the death of the student. This is particularly strange given that it was perhaps the most newsworthy event of the week in Yerevan. Regardless, it “fits” in with my comments that appear to have incurred the wrath of “someone” in connection to the state of civil society and the media in Armenia.
I’m also a bit disappointed that RFE/RL didn’t cover the story on its English-language news pages although it’s main audience are radio listeners. The audio of the broadcast is probably already on yesterday’s archive page at http://www.rferl.org. Maybe they’ll have something later online although as I said, its radio coverage is probably more important.
Still, it has to be said that this was quite a show of strength and unity by Indian students in Armenia. Seen nothing like it from Armenians in the 7 years I’ve been here.
Comment by Onnik — April 21, 2006 @ 6:55 pm
I’ve just watched news on Armenia TV, where they announced that an Indian student had fallen down from dormitory window, that they already know the results of examination and that the Medical University will cover all the expenses with transferring the body to India. They shot pieces of yesterday’s demonstration. Therefore they didn’t say anything about students rebelling and demanding to fire the rector.
Comment by Zarchka — April 21, 2006 @ 8:04 pm
The author of comment 7 is a wonderful example of a racist, in the worst sense of the word, since it is directed to someone within his race and nation, what to wait from such kind of person if not hostility towards other nations…aparently, the person cannot TOLERATE another person’s successful work (Onnik’s article in this case, I wouldn’t be surprised if that is someone among his colleagues)…
Comment by Inesa (Armenian Student Abroad) — April 22, 2006 @ 3:22 am