A very interesting event occurred in 2011, and as a result, the internet was ‘off’ for hours in Armenia, Georgia and parts of Azerbaijan. The hero of the event is Hayastan Shakarian, who was 75 years old at that time. Let’s take a look at this tragicomic story…
While sitting at home with your phone or computer in front of the internet Imagine if the internet suddenly went out. You made negative wishes to your internet provider, you turned the modem on and off, but it’s not there. Internet is not coming. Then you learn that you are not alone, because almost all of your country has been disconnected from the internet. But no one knows why yet. What would you do?
Here is almost the same situation as this story, it happened in 2011. Moreover, not one but three countries were affected by this situation. At the starting point of the chain that caused the events there was a woman who was 75 at the time; Hayastan Shakarian.
Is fiber optic cable one with scrap copper cable?
An example for internet cables laid underground
You may have heard from the news that comes to the agenda in our country from time to time; cable theft a fairly common occurrence. In particular, copper cables that are not used to a large extent anymore are cut and sold and this has become an ‘income source’.
There were similar scenarios in 2011 as well. even at times people cutting fiber optic cables while searching for copper cables restricted internet access could cause problems. Because both copper cables and fiber optic cables were passing underground in a similar PVC pipe. This could cause confusion…
A photo from the area where Hayastan Shakarian cut the wire
According to the news at that time, there was exactly such a mess. Hayastan Shakarian, 75, was earning income by digging scrap cables and selling them with a shovel in hand. accidentally cut the fiber optic cable instead of the copper cable. However, there was a problem; that cable is not just a local internet provider, It provided the internet for almost the whole of Armenia…
Internet providers such as ArmenTel, FiberNet Communication and GNC-Alfa, which are among the main internet providers of the country, were all affected by this situation. Apart from Armenia, access problems were experienced in most of Georgia and Azerbaijan. This situation It continued for more than 12 hours.
owned by Georgian Railway Telecom and Cable running along a 600-kilometer linewas ‘pretty well guarded’, according to officials. However, the fact that similar situations have occurred in the past, albeit with smaller cuts, does not raise some question marks about ‘how well it is protected’…
In addition to the possibility of up to three years in prison, Shakarian’s saying ‘I don’t even know what the internet is’ is the tragic thing…
After the events, Shakarian was first arrested with a request for up to three years in prison, and then went to court; that he wasn’t the one who cut the cable, that he didn’t even know what the internet was and gave a lot of interviews that she couldn’t hold back her tears.
Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson Zura Gvenetadze emphasized that Shakarian cut the cable while trying to disconnect the cable and announced that he was released until the trial process was completed due to his advanced age. It was also said that he would probably get a much lower sentence due to his age.
Judging by Shakarian’s statements and his son, who says his mother is innocent and cries incessantly, the woman was only in the area to collect wood and he didn’t have the physical strength to find and cut that wire…
I could not find answers to some questions such as how the case ended and what was Shakarian’s sentence. However, some news in the following years situations such as commuting his sentence was mentioned. What is your opinion on this? Do you think Shakarian should really have faced this kind of punishment? Waiting for your comments!