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The Case Is No Longer About the Najarians

By Moorad Mooradian, Ph.D.

July , 2005
Armenian Mirror Spectator

Initially, the issue about which I wrote involved the outright theft of property amounting to thousands of dollars belonging to George and Carolann Najarian. It was focused on their personal tribulations, as it is an affront to two generous people. However, because of the various powers that are involved in Armenia, the issue has escalated to a matter of justice--or lack of it--and the unabashed corruption in some high places in that struggling society. The involvement by officials who apparently stand to gain from a Najarian loss takes this matter out of the realm of a personal problem and makes it one that all nations and peoples coveting the rules of law and decency must note. More importantly, action to get at the truth and to triumph over corruption becomes vital.

Because the Najarians love Armenia and its average citizens so much, they have endured expense and heartache in the hope that the manipulators seated in high places in that society will come to their senses and do the right and moral thing, for the sake of the country. But alas, the unfortunate opposite has occurred. Quick monetary gains and precedent setting evil have surfaced at the expense of the good name of Armenia. Rather than Armenian officials cleaning up their own act, which is the best option, it appears that outside pressure is the only hope remaining for the Najarians to achieve justice. The disposition of the Najarian case stands to show the rest of the world how much or how little of the corruption in Armenia is being cleaned up, and whether or not decency matters in the powerful circles that run the country. After all, two years ago banners waved in Armenia boasting about Armenia being the first state in the world to declare itself Christian, but Christianity has stopped at the doorstep of greed in this case. And yet, the officials in Armenia would like people to invest in that society.
I have lost count as to how many entrepreneurs I have spoken with about investing in Armenia, but it has been a considerable number. Just this past Sunday at church I spoke to a wealthy business owner who stood firm that he would not invest a penny in Armenia until the corruption is cleaned up and laws protect an honest investment. This person, as with many people in business, is not asking for laws that guarantee profits. As capitalists they understand that their product has to capture the needs and wants of a people if success is to be won. What they do not want is empty promises; a cup of coffee and “aghperatutuin” while corrupt officials and oligarchs with connections in high office fleece them of their investments. In fact, this businessperson told me that right now even the Najarians (who do not expect profit and have already given much to the country) cannot get a decent shake in Armenia. Fleecing is exactly what is happening to the Najarians.
The Najarians have appealed to everyone they know in Armenia, even to the highest offices. The manipulations that have taken place leave the Najarians to conclude that corruption is so rife in the country that justice is not possible internally. In fact, the official who is their prime antagonist has recently been criticized in the media for having a car that costs $100,000. This person has also been linked in the newspapers in Armenia to human trafficking and to an allegedly illegal gold business.
As a consequence, the Najarians reluctantly filed a complaint with the US Department of State. International lawyers have told the Najarians that what has happened to them is in complete violation of the terms of the Bilateral Investment Treaty, of which Armenia is a signatory. The State Department is studying the issue and intends to let the Najarians know how they will proceed based on the facts that are available. The preliminary findings, according to the Najarians, are that many of the terms of the treaty have been violated in their case.

Both husband and wife have earned what monetary assets the Najarians have; Carolann as a physician, George as a businessman who put his resources at risk and managed to succeed. Both have given generously of their time and money to Armenia and Karabakh. But some greedy and narrow minded folks in Armenia, probably jealous and very envious of the Najarians who naively called them brother, think that it is fair game to pluck a diaspora Armenian for all that is possible.
What is at play here is a few in power that forget what being Armenian is (perhaps they never learned) who have regressed into the Soviet upbringing that was supposedly swept away with independence. The major fault with the Najarians is that they naively believed that calling someone Armenian made him one. They saw in Armenia what they wished Armenia to be and not what exists. As with many of us in the diaspora, they recalled the stories told to us by our parents, most of who had no idea how the Soviet culture had eroded much of the Armenian brotherhood from the people whose name ended in “yan.” Fortunately this is being reversed, but for the Najarian case, it’s not fast enough. However, being naive is not a crime and they certainly do not deserve to be robbed.

This is not only a matter of the Najarians losing. Certainly, these two philanthropic people will not be forced onto the welfare roles in the U.S. if they lose their properties. However, in the event that they are successfully fleeced of their property, all of Armenia will lose because corruption will have triumphed. The crooks that continue to bleed the respectable average Armenian will have improved their battle against laws protecting folks. It will be a loss for anti-corruption, decency and democracy. Also, Armenia will have lost big time because the high-profile Najarian case will become a red flag for others who may be tempted to invest in Armenia.

The Armenian lawyers representing the Najarians are being threatened. Additionally, the lead lawyer is being harassed by a quaint law that prohibits a witness from representing a plaintiff. Thus, the lead lawyer is being called as a witness to testify in order to neutralize him. So far he has resisted. All people who love and want Armenia to succeed and thrive need to speak up. Whether it is the Armenian Assembly or the Armenian National Committee, or individual diasporan Armenians, or non-Armenian friends of Armenia, theft of this nature from one should be interpreted as theft from all of us. Moreover, it is a theft from the people of Armenia, not in a monetary sense, but a theft of morals and justice.

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