Samvel Babayan
Samvel Babayan | |
---|---|
Minister of Defence of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic | |
In office January 1995 – August 1999 | |
President | Leonard Petrosyan Arkadi Ghukasyan |
Preceded by | position established |
Succeeded by | Seyran Ohanyan |
Personal details | |
Born | Lieutenant General | 5 March 1965
Battles/wars | |
Samvel Andraniki Babayan (Armenian: Սամվել Անդրանիկի Բաբայան; born 5 March 1965) is an Armenian military commander and politician from Nagorno-Karabakh. He was one of the founders and main commanders of the Artsakh Defence Army during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War and became a hero among Armenians for the military victories achieved under his command.
Following the war, he served as the
Biography
Early life
Babayan was born on 5 March 1965 in
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
In 1988, Samvel Babayan enlisted in a paramilitary unit and rose to command his own unit. From 1989 to 1991 he was the commander of the Stepanakert Second Volunteers Company and a member of the Stepanakert underground central headquarters. In 1991 he was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities for his paramilitary activities but was released the same year in exchange for an Azerbaijani official captured by Armenian forces.
Post-war leadership and arrest
Samvel Babayan established himself as the most powerful man in Nagorno-Karabakh in the aftermath of the war.[1] According to Thomas de Waal, Babayan acquired significant wealth by selling materials taken from the Azerbaijani districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh and by establishing a monopoly over cigarette and fuel imports to Nagorno-Karabakh through a company registered in his wife's name.[3] Babayan used his position to acquire land, businesses and tax privileges.[6] After Nagorno-Karabakh's president Robert Kocharyan left his position to become prime minister of Armenia, Babayan became even more influential in Karabakh's civilian politics.[6] In June 1998, he forced Nagorno-Karabakh's prime minister Leonard Petrosyan to resign. At a joint session of the security councils of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in January 1998, at the urging of Vazgen Sargsyan, Robert Kocharyan, and Serzh Sargsyan, Babayan spoke strongly against President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan's plan to accept the OSCE Minsk Group's proposals to return some of the territory captured from Azerbaijan during the war and deploy international peacekeepers there; Ter-Petrosyan was forced to resign a month later.[6] Babayan then began to intervene in Armenian politics, funding the "Law and Unity" bloc in the 1999 Armenian parliamentary election, where the bloc came in third. After this, Armenia's prime minister Vazgen Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan (now president of Armenia) decided to restrain Babayan's growing influence.[6]
Robert Kocharyan was unable to deal with the Babayan issue directly due to the political chaos in Armenia following the
Babayan was tried for organizing the attempt on Ghukasyan's life along with 15 of his associates.[7] The trial began on 18 September 2000 and ended on 26 February 2001, when Babayan was sentenced to 14 years of prison, stripped of several decorations and ranks, and disenfranchised.[6] Two of his associates were also sentenced to 14 years and the other defendants were given lesser sentences.[7]
During the investigation and while serving his sentence, Babayan's health greatly deteriorated. He was said to suffer from hepatitis and other ailments which could not be treated in prison. On 18 September 2004, Samvel Babayan was released from maximum-security prison in Shusha due to health concerns, with the terms of release including a probationary period and continued disenfranchisement.[6]
Politics after release and 2017 arrest
In November 2005, Samvel Babayan founded the Dashink ("Alliance") political party with his supporters. The party did not achieve any major success.[8]
Babayan returned to Armenia in May 2016 after a de facto exile in Moscow, shortly after
In the lead-up to the
Babayan founded the United Homeland Party in Artsakh in September 2019.[10] Babayan launched a presidential campaign for the 2020 Artsakhian general election, but was disqualified from participation.[10] He later endorsed Masis Mayilyan.[10]
On 29 May 2020, he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh.[11]
Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and aftermath
During the
On November 10, 2020 he resigned as Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Security Council Secretary and renounced the title Hero of Artsakh due to the conditions of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement, accusing both leaders of Armenia and Artsakh of treason and criminal actions.[14][15]
Founding of the Liberal Party and 2021 Armenian elections
In April 2021, Babayan announced his intention to participate in the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election.[16] Babayan ran in the Armenian parliamentary election in June 2021 as the prime ministerial candidate for the Liberal Party, which he founded in March 2021.[17] The party received 14,936 votes, amounting to 1.17% of all votes, below the 5% threshold required to enter parliament.[18]
Personal information and titles
Babayan has been awarded with the army ranks of lieutenant colonel (1992), colonel (1993), major general (1994) and lieutenant general (1996). He has been awarded with the Golden Eagle medal of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (1997) and has been declared a Hero of Artsakh (he renounced the title after the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement).[2][6] He is married and has three children.[2] His brother Karen Babayan previously served as Mayor of Stepanakert and Minister of Internal Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
References
- ^ a b Ohanian, Karine (29 September 2004). "Freeing of Karabakh Military Chief Stirs Debate". Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
- ^ a b c d "Samvel Babayan". persons.am.
- ^ OCLC 50959080.
The twenty-seven-year-old former garage mechanic Samvel Babayan employed ruthless tactics to form a Karabakh Armenian 'army'... He was uneducated and had previously made his living washing cars and working in a café. In 1991, he had been arrested and jailed by the Azerbaijanis, becoming a local hero on his release...
- ^ a b c Sanamyan, Emil (29 November 2017). "Armenia: War Hero Sentenced to Six Years in Prison | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- ^ "Պարզաբանում. Սամվել Բաբայան" [Clarification: Samvel Babayan]. mediamax.am (in Armenian). 26 May 2016. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
Samvel Babayan's signature is on the 1994 Bishkek protocol, the ceasefire agreement between the NKR, Azerbaijan and Armenia.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "The rise and fall of Samvel Babayan". Armenian News Network / Groong. University of Southern California. 6 October 2004.
- ^ a b "NKR EX DEFENSE MINISTER IS SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT". www.panarmenian.net. 26 February 2001. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- ^ a b "Babayan's Back: Former Karabakh strongman returns to Armenia after four-day war". ArmeniaNow. 26 May 2016.
- ^ "Samvel Babayan's Push for Artsakh Presidency Hits Roadblocks". USC Institute of Armenian Studies. 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- ^ a b c Manougian, Harout; Sargsyan, Lusine (25 February 2020). "Artsakh's 2020 Election: The Essential Primer". www.evnreport.com. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ Samvel Babayan appointed Secretary of Security Council of Artsakh Armenpress, May 29, 2020
- ^ a b "Ձախողված օպերացիաներ, զենքի պակաս, հրամանների մերժում. Սամվել Բաբայանի բացահայտումները 44-օրյա պատերազմից" [Failed operations, lack of weapons, refusal of orders; Samvel Babayan's revelations from the 44 day war]. www.civilnet.am (in Armenian). 13 December 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
- ^ "Լելե-Թեփեի օպերացիա չի եղել․ Սամվել Բաբայան" [Samvel Babayan: There was no 'Lele Tepe' operation]. iravaban.net. 18 April 2021.
I proposed the idea of the operation... they say '[the defense] isn't working, we don't have the resources to stope the enemy in those three directions.' Therefore, only Horadiz remains... The operation as such does not take place, the officers refuse for various reasons.
- Urdu Point, 10 November 2020
- ^ Babayan quits post of Security Council Secretary of Nagorno-Karabakh Caucasian Knot, 11 November 2020
- ^ "Սամվել Բաբայանը մասնակցելու է առաջիկա ընտրություններին. ՏԵՍԱՆՅՈՒԹ" [Samvel Babayan will participate in the upcoming elections. VIDEO]. factor.am. 12 April 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Sargsyan, Lusine; Manougian, Harout (3 June 2021). "Armenia's June 2021 Parliamentary Election: The Essential Primer". www.evnreport.com. Retrieved 2021-06-06.
- ^ "Արդյունքներ - Ազգային Ժողովի". dashboards.elections.am. Retrieved 2021-06-22.
See also
- Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army