ROBBING THE OTHERS OF THEIR GLORY
- When your patience is exhausted
Varouzhan Karapetyan was the person in charge of military affairs in the European office of ASALA. In 1983, he was arrested in France after the terrorist act organized in the French airport "Aurles" and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Eighteen years after serving his sentence in France, V. Karapetyan was released. On April 24, 2001 he came to Armenia, settled in his homeland, and now lives in Dilijan, in a house he has built on his own.
"My patience is exhausted. Those who rob others of their glory have increased in number, and they abuse the human sacrifice. It's now time to speak and tell the truth," VAROUZHAN KARAPETYAN said in an exclusive interview to "Hayots Ashkharh".
"Mr. Karapetyan, you have never had an interview with the Armenian journalists although you have been living in Armenia for more than 7 years now. What has made you so indignant that you decided to express your opinion in the press?"
"When the ox ploughs the field, the wooden plough pulls it from behind and the animal sweats. The sweat attracts the lice which never miss the chance to say at the end that they have ploughed the field on their own. This is the philosophy of our life.
The best guys sacrificed their lives, while the time-servers are now using their merit. We initiated the operation of "Aurles" airport ourselves, as a sign of protest against Levon Ekmedjyan's being hanged in Istanbul in 1982. We had planned to blow up the plane belonging to the "Turkish Airlines" company, which was transporting high-ranking officials, Generals and diplomats of the Turkish intelligence service. Our target was definitely clear. During the operation, 10 Turks were killed and other 60 were injured.
I was arrested, served my sentence and then was released, and, as a representative of the third generation of an Armenian emigrant, I returned to my homeland. In the course of the past 7 years, I never displayed any kind of political orientation.
When, in the 1970's, we founded the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia, our struggle was not class-oriented, and it didn't bear a political character; our principal goal was to liberate the occupied lands of Armenia. In 1991, Armenia regained its independence. Therefore, the issue of the Armenian Cause is to be resolved by the Armenian statehood, and it should never be adjusted to the mentality of a certain group or party. The state mentality is the pledge of the existence of our statehood. In the 1990's, when the existence of our motherland was at stake, the consolidation of the power of Armenians in Artsakh had become an imperative.
When the war or battle is over, the freedom fighter who was ready to become a martyr should realize that his mission is over, and he should be able to take a halt and cease the struggle. A freedom fighter must be able to keep his name high; he must never stagnate, never appear on the political arena and spot his reputation. And this is exactly what many friends of mine and many freedom fighters did.
However, it turns out that when the lion is missing, the foxes begin dancing in the forest. And one of such foxes is the criminal who introduces himself as Sargis Hatspanyan."
"Who is, after all, Sargis Hatspanyan who currently acts as a 'pro-Levon activist'"? What does he have to do with the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia?"
"When we were arrested, Sargis Hatspanyan was one of the time-servers who took advantage of our status. He came to the independent state of Armenia, introduced himself as a fighter and even the leader of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia and speculated the most sacred patriotic sentiments of our people.
Hatspanyan was a mysterious nature. His real surname was Ekmedjyan. When living in France, he speculated the fact of bearing the same surname as martyr hero Levon Ekmekdjyan but as a matter of fact, he had no relationship with either Levon or our army. In this way, he managed to organize several donations in the Diaspora. He extorted and realized the sums that were collected with the purpose of providing aid to the arrested freedom fighters as well as assisting in the war of Artsakh.
He didn't have a house in France; in that sense, he was a vagabond. But he managed to amass a fortune due to his charity organization. Now, Sargis Ekmedjyan has translated his surname from Turkish and become Hatspanyan; he now has a luxurious shop in the Northern Avenue and a house in Toumanyan Street.
The so-called Hatspanyan now introduces himself as a freedom fighter of the detachment which was led by hero of the Artsakh war Leonid Azgaldyan and a former member of ASALA, although he had never had anything in common with the secret army; neither had he been in the battlefields of Artsakh, at least for an hour.
I have met him only once. During our conversation, he refused to confess that he had ever introduced himself as a member of ASALA, but he insisted that he had been put to prison in France in 1983, in the frameworks of the "Aurles" case. I thought I might not have recognized him or be unaware of his involvement. However, I learnt from Rene Levonyan, honored priest of the Armenian Evangelistic Church, that the so-called Hatspanyan was not only an obscene liar but also a robber of the glory gained at the price of the sufferings of others. That wretched creature who poses danger to society reminds me of one story.
Two prisoners were close friends. When the time of their release drew near, one of them asked the other what he was going to do after being released from prison. And he reminded his prison mate that he had been put to prison for killing one of the two villains of their village and wouldn't be able to live in peace unless he squared accounts with the other. The other said that he was going to build a private house on the top of the mountain and live there in peace with his family. Years later, the former visits his friend, sees that he has translated his desires into reality and feels happy for him. Then he confesses that he hasn't put his plans into practice because the villains in the village had increased in number while he was serving his sentence in prison.
The same I can say about myself. When I was released from prison, I saw that the villains had increased in number. It is very hard to put up with the idea that the villains enjoy the products of your sacrifice. But what to do when there are a lot of such villains. You can't kill them all. So, it is necessary to reveal their essence. The people have a wise proverb which says what is done by night appears by day, and the truth has to be disclosed.
I just dread when the time-servers and immoral creatures start expressing concerns over the Artsakh issue. For such kind of people, Armenia is the beautiful lady they want to rape. This is why I decided to interrupt my silence. - GEVORG HAROUTYUNYAN