Box and Artak: all that remains of Vardanyan’s female detachment

Turning Armenian criminals convicted in Baku into martyrs and heroes turned out to be not as simple a matter as some people thought a year or two ago. And hopes for their release have almost completely faded away. A year or two ago, many believed that the case wouldn’t go to trial, and if it did, the punishment would be no greater than for pickpocketing. Because Baku would be afraid.

The criminals themselves thought the same. None of them cooperated with the investigation, admitted their guilt, repented, or asked the Azerbaijani people for forgiveness for what they had done. This could have mitigated the punishment and at least somewhat cleared their consciences. But they did not do this. They behaved in court as if they were playing roles in a play. And this is not due to a deep conviction of their own rightness and loyalty to an “idea.” It stems from a deep certainty that they will not have to serve their sentence in any case, even if a verdict is passed.

Indeed, many did not believe that Armenian criminals would receive long sentences. It was believed that the case was dragging on because Baku, they say, wanted to bargain and was charging a price. The criminals themselves also believed in this and pretended to be masters of the situation, expecting that a wizard in a blue helicopter was about to arrive and show a movie for free.

Although no, there was and is nothing free in this production called "free the prisoners." Over the course of three years, the Vardanyan family had to spend a considerable amount of money, paying large fees to various organizations and individuals (mostly fraudsters like Okampo) to promote the idea of releasing “Armenian prisoners.” “Armenian Christians,” “political martyrs,” and so on. The contracting organizations sought to challenge Azerbaijan’s actions and give the criminal case a political dimension. To this end, legal procedures are used, and efforts are also made to exert foreign policy influence through the diaspora and lobbying.

However, critics of Azerbaijan have been unable to achieve any foreign policy consequences for Baku, and everything is limited to lobbying within the structures that the client and the contractor have access to. Some believe that this access means that the arguments put forward by Vardanyan’s support group are automatically recognized by high?level structures. Meanwhile, all these hearings, resolutions, statements, and meetings organized as part of the lobbying efforts do not yield the desired result and cannot influence the release of the Armenian criminal in any way.

Let’s clarify that we’re specifically talking about Vardanyan because the campaign for the release of “Armenian prisoners” is being carried out with his money and for his sake. The rest is part of the whole package. And they know it themselves, so they mostly keep quiet out of prudence, fearing that it might not be their turn. David Babayan has been appearing on the scene more and more often lately; apparently, he was elected by a general vote to be the mouthpiece of the convicted scoundrels in place of Ruben Vardanyan. Rubik was too much, and he must have been advised to step into the shadows so that the international campaign would look more impressive and broader. When one billionaire is at its center, and the others are forgotten because they’re unable to buy their own Ocampo, it no longer smells of “martyrdom.” It smells completely different.

After wasting a lot of money, the family decided to resort to humanitarian diplomacy in the form of a certain women’s monitoring group, which decided to come to Baku and see how the criminals were getting along. The same PR companies raised a fuss about this in the media. The billionaire’s wife, Veronika Zonabend, tried to add a touchingly lyrical tone to the campaign. But it didn’t help. There was no response in Baku. Then the initiators went to Yerevan to look for a mediator in the Armenian Foreign Ministry. The Armenian Foreign Ministry, apparently, did not intervene. The issue of sending a female special forces unit to Baku resolved itself.And today, Armenian media reported that a box containing letters intended for the convicted Armenians was handed over to the Armenian government. The box was supposed to be delivered by the Zonabend team, but now it has been brought to the government by the separatist Artak Beglaryan, a pitiful creature who calls himself the head of the “Artsakh Union.” This is all that remains of the Zonabend initiative, and the revanchists are counting on Yerevan to deliver the letters to Baku.Beglaryan did not rule out that “the initiative with the letters could serve as a catalyst for generating public and international pressure on Baku to secure the release of the prisoners.” At the same time, he claims that the action is purely humanitarian in nature and does not hinder the peace process. How can constant attempts to undermine the peace process not hinder it? Such provocations, disguised by humanitarian goals, slow down the process, if not at the official level, then at the level of public opinion.

It is not reported who the authors of the 1254 letters are. But you don't have to guess about their contents for a long time. They can certainly be used to create a picture of what is going on in people's minds. There is no doubt that there are words of support, promises of revenge, and faith in their speedy release and return to Karabakh en masse. Our neighbors have always loved spectacles, posturing, emotional exaltation, crowd scenes, and psychological exercises performed on naive listeners.

The fact that the pitiful, half?sighted Beglaryan came to the government with a box of junk mail is also a technique designed to make an impression. It is also an element of pressure on the psyche of those who observe this scene and read the news.

Those who accepted the box promised to read everything and then hand it over to the prime minister.

Well, enjoy reading.