On October 11, 2020, Anania Aramyan was sent from Martuni to Hadrut, which was already in the hands of the enemy, as part of a well-known company of 73 people. None of the boys survived. Exactly two years ago on this day, Anania’s last phone call was made at Aramyan’s house.
Anania, along with 73 soldiers of his company, was considered missing for 140 days. And it was only through DNA research that it was possible to find his remains among the relics found in Hadrut in December. The remains of the soldier were handed over to his parents in parts, as a result of which the father had to open his son’s grave several times and bury them again.
Today, we were sitting, I was constantly looking at the clock. I said, ‘My boy was alive right now’. A little later, I looked at the clock and said, ‘My baby is not there anymore’. This is how our life goes. My son will never become past for me. I have buried my child three times, but I am still waiting. I keep my phone close to me all the time, waiting for a call. I am not interested in anything else,” says Anania’s father, Samvel Aramyan.
In order to find out the truth about what happened to the boys, the family members of the servicemen themselves visited Artsakh, contacted the surviving members of the command staff and tried to restore the tragic events with their own efforts.
The investigation in this case is now over. Charges were brought against 2 persons, who, according to the investigators, showed negligence towards their official duties. The Investigative Committee does not publish their names. It is known that the regiment commander Gor Ishkhanyan and the former head of the operational staff of the Artsakh Armed Forces Nver Martirosyan are involved as defendants. Jalal Harutyunyan, whom the parents consider the main culprit of their sons’ death, is not among the accused.
According to Samvel Aramyan, no matter what punishment the accused receive, there will be no consolation for him: “If they sit for 10, 20, 30 years, it will not cool my heart. Now, no matter what anyone does, it will not bring our child back, but if there is a normal verdict, we will know that impunity will at least to some extent disappear and people will know that the steps they took, which took the lives of many boys, have consequences.”
Ani Gevorgyan