Arnak Mikayelyan, the father of Khachatur Mikayelyan, who fought with the “Yashma” detachment during the 44-day war, is not allowed by the Yerevan Municipality to install the khachkar [Armenian Cross-Stone, carved, memorial stele bearing a cross] in an area smaller than 10 square meters. The khachkar is dedicated to his son’s memory, as well as to the memory of the rest of the boys who gave their lives for the motherland.
Arnak Mikayelyan wants to place the khachkar in the community area, which is not far from the residential building located at 14/3 Gevorg Chaush Street, Ajapnyak Administrative District, Yerevan. The location is indicated in the photo.
“The City Hall, I don’t know why, refuses. Basically, they want to sell, but they don’t want to sell us a 6-7 square meter area. They say that we cannot place a khachkar in the area adjacent to the road, but this is not an area adjacent to the road,” said the father, noting that the municipality offered to place it under the wall of the residential building, which is unacceptable to him, because the building works are unfinished. Construction works are planned in the near future, as a result of which the khachkar may be damaged.
The khachkar dedicated to the war victims has been in the basement of the building in plastic bags for about a year.
“We were forced to put it here so that it will not be exposed to rain and snow until we understand what our officials are saying,” said Arnak Mikayelyan and mentioned that he has information that another person wants to acquire that area. “A person living in the neighborhood, who has an eye on that place, in fact, creates these obstacles.”
Arnak Mikayeln said that the municipality even left his last application unanswered, but, as a result of his persistence, they gave a verbal answer. “I submitted the last application in November (2022). They didn’t respond to my application, then I went there and they told me verbally: ‘I’m sorry, look elsewhere, it’s not a preferable place’.”
Forrights.am sent written questions on this topic to Yerevan Municipality.
Khachatur Mikayelyan spent his military service in Hadrut. On the first day of the war, he moved to Fizuli, the hottest point of the war. He fought with his fellow soldiers against the enemy’s Yashma detachmnet. In the first days of the war, Khachatur was wounded in the shoulder, he was offered to be transferred to a military hospital, but he refused, stating that he did not want to leave his friends alone on the battlefield.
Khachatur’s last call occurred on September 29. After that, his parents looked for him everywhere. Arnak Mikayelyan’s son’s name was found in the officially published lists of the wounded and captured, but, in the end, he found the boy in the mortuary of Goris.
Khachatur Mikayelyan was posthumously awarded the “For Courage” medal by the decree of the President of the Republic of Artsakh for his feat.
Narek Kirakosyan