The parents of the soldiers who died in the 44-day war continue to fight against the dismantling of the X Military Unit museum. Forrighst.am reported earlier that the symbolic museum on Ulnetsi Street is in danger of demolition, as it is located on private land.
The military unit-museum is built in the form of a trench. There are photos of all killed boys on the walls, their belongings, which their parents did not manage to send to the battlefield, and remnants of military equipment brought from the battlefield.
The court gave Aghabek Khachatryan, the founder of the X Military Unit, a war veteran, a deadline: he must vacate the area by July 5.
On June 26, the parents of the killed soldiers, the land owner Melik Hakobyan and the deputy mayor of Yerevan Tigran Avinyan met in the territory of the X military uni. The parents met with Avinyan in the hope that he would provide a solution to the problem. The discussion was not for media coverage, and Avinyan proposed to stop filming, to which the parents agreed.
During the discussion, each of the parents presented their son’s story: how did the relatives talk for the last time, what dreams did the boys have, or, in the background of those dreams, in what difficult conditions they found the bodies of their sons in the morgues. As a matter of fact, Avinyan was not inclined to listen to those stories and empathize with his parents. In between those stories, he suggested to the head of the Arabkir administrative district to understand what discussions could be held in the real estate department for the settlement of the issue.
At the end, the official of the municipality recorded that the owner of the plot, Melik Hakobyan, is a dilignt buyer. The deputy mayor left without answering questions.
Both during the discussion and after the discussion, the parents announced that they are not going to allow their sons’ pictures to be removed from that area, which has become a sacred place. Over the years, the number of names written on the stones has reached 7500, and the photos on the walls show boys of 18, 19, 20 and other ages who did not spare their lives for their country. The memorial was named X Militay Unit and, as Aghabek Khachatryan (Bek), a participant in the Artsakh Liberation War, a member of the “Artsiv” martyrs’ battalion, says, it is the military unit of all soldiers. He is the founder of this place, where the parents of the boys often gather and pay tribute to the memory of their sons.
“We bought a plot of land to move all this to that area, so that this 4400 square meter area can be used,” Melik Hakobyan, the owner of the plot, told the parents.
To Forrights.am’s question, why it is not acceptable for him for this small part of the area to remain as a sanctuary, as the parents suggest, the owner answered: “This plot of land is 300 meters long, which interferes with the remaining 4,000 meters. The whole problem lies in this: it is located in the center.” At the same time, he refused to reveal who is the well-known businessman who is going to invest in construction works in the area.
“He is a deserter,” declared one of the participants of the first Artsakh war, who participated in the establishment of the X Military Unit”. “When we were going to war, you were not there: you ran away, you went abroad. We took an oath here, we went to war, this is a sanctuary for the people,” he added.
On the floor of the museum dug like a trench, there are many pictures of boys: the parents brought them, but they don’t know if they will be posted on the walls or not, because the owner came and sat in that area, regularly announcing that he will tear it down. “I come here, I talk to my son, I live with my son, I feel relieved, I go,” said one of those who opposed the demolition.
Buildings for candle lighting and parents’ sitting-resting of the X Military Unit have already been demolished; the debris still remains in the area.
The gathered parents say that their sons gave their lives for their land, but now, for the sake of money, the memory of their sons is not respected. “Let them pass over my body and destroy it,” said one of the mothers.
Narek Kirakosyan