Aki of “Yeghnikner” was the terror of the enemy. He died in Artsakh without ever seeing his newborn son
Akin of “Yeghnikner”: this is how they address Captain Araik Matevosyan. “When he was little, he could not say his name Arayik; he used to say Aki,” his brother Abel told Forrights.am.
Araik Matevosyan is one of Yeghnikners’ [the name of one of military units: literally, translates as Deers] devotees. The family says that he knew by heart every rock and bush, for the protection of which he fought for more than a decade.
“This spring water is coming down from Mrov mountain. It comes in summer and winter, it doesn’t stop. It is the tastiest water, always cold!” During the siege of Artsakh, Aki filmed the water of the spring coming down from Mrov and sent the video to his mother, Marine Melkumyan. Mrs. Marine will always keep it in her phone. She has many such videos from her son about the unique nature of Artsakh.
Arayik has been constantly in positions in recent years, concerned about the daily life of soldiers. “He was walking around, seeing what the soldiers needed in the siege, where to get it. There was a problem with food. He hunted for soldiers and villagers. He used to draw pictures and send them to me,” his mother told Forrights.am.
Arayik chose the path of a soldier after finishing school by entering a military institute. His father’s fighting path was the basis of his enthusiasm. He participated in the liberation of Artsakh. “He considered it his mission to continue his father’s military path. He approached the army, weapons and military affairs with special sanctity,” says his brother.
In 2020, when Azerbaijan attacked Artsakh, Aki was in Armenia; he interrupted his vacation and went to the front line. “One day, he went out early in the morning. Then we learned that the war had started. It was clear that Aki should be in his place,” says Abel and notes that, on the same day, he and his father volunteered and went to the front. Arayik was injured during the 44-Day War, but left the treatment incomplete and returned to the front line.
“Aki had not fully recovered yet, but he said: ‘The boys are alone; I should be there,” Abel remembers his brother’s words, noting that his brother refused to move to Armenia: he wanted to serve in Yegnikner.
“He just got married, his wife was pregnant, but he didn’t want to move. The blockade of Artsakh began a few days after the birth of the child. He never saw his child. Once I asked him, ‘Don’t you want to see your baby?’ He replied, ‘I want to, very much so, but my child is safe, and who should look after the children here?’ And so he remained in the mountains.”
The last time his mother spoke to Arayik was on September 19, when the day was turning to 20th of the month. “I was worried, then they said that there was a severe battle in Yeghnikner, the enemy had many casualties, but we also had casualties. We heard that the toughest commander, Hayk, was killed… Then I found out that the commander was my son. They said Aki, they didn’t understand where the name derives from, so they wrote Hayk,” said the mother.
Aki’s positions were on the front of Mrav mountain. Abel says that the enemy was terrified of his brother. “On the upper part of the wall of Aki’s room, there are places where the enemy shot. The comrades-in-arms said that they wanted to destroy him, but when the bullets did not hit him, he destroyed the enemy’s positions to the ground. But after that, when the enemy stood still, he did not fire a single shot.”
On September 19, the enemy attacked one of Arayik Matevosyan’s positions with aviation. The boys were killed. “If I’m not mistaken, one person survived. Aki rushed to that position. One of the soldiers, Edo, followed him (Edo is Eduard Danielyan, whose battle path was covered by Forrights.am last year) ran behind him, although he said not to come. Aki and Edo reached the destroyed position. They dag the rubble to get the bodies out when the aviation striked a second time. Both were killed,” Abel said.
Arayik Matevosyan survived only a few minutes after the attack and used that time for arranging something. “Aki was seriously injured. Gasping for breath, he got in touch and said: ‘Raise the stretcher [to the position], you have to take us down from here.’ He accepted his death with dignity,” said Abel.
For his services to the homeland, Arayik Matevosyan was awarded with the Jubilee Medal “Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia: 20 Years”, the First Degree Medal “For Flawless Service” and the “Combat Service” Medal by the Decree of the President of Artsakh.
Narek Kiraoksyan