Not Waiting for Seyran Ohanyan: Relatives of Killed Soldiers Protested Under the Rain

If a year ago, there were only 5 relatives of soldiers killed in the army protesting outside the Armenian government building every Thursday, well today this number has grown exponentially.

Tsovinar Nazaryan, sister of the late Artak Nazaryan, 30, commander of a rifle platoon and head of a military base in Tavush, who died suddenly in July 2010, today spoke to Epress.am about the two non-combat army deaths in Nagorno-Karabakh reported this past week. Recall, just as with Artak Nazaryan, the defense ministry has claimed both cases were suicides.

“When we received the news, we were simply in shock — it’s very frightening what’s happening, because yesterday they buried someone then received news of the death of another serviceman, which the defense ministry right from the beginning declares is suicide. You don’t know how they decide this: they decide very quickly; they have super-professional investigators; they say very quickly that it’s suicide. This has to be stopped somehow and right now because if two people from the same village are killed two days apart—this has to be stopped right now. Tomorrow or the day after, someone else will be murdered… we can’t wait a month, we can’t even wait a week, because in that one week a few people might be tortured again, a few more murdered,” she said.

Note that defense minister Seyran Ohanyan wasn’t participating in today’s cabinet meeting.

However, Tsovinar said when the minister comes or when he leaves doesn’t interest her. What’s important for her is that he does his job.

“I’m not waiting for him. I come here to express my public protest; not for Seyran Ohanyan to come out [of the building] and again [projecting] his good courteous image say remarks to calm us somehow and then until the next government session a few more people are killed,” she said.

Tsovinar Nazaryan informed Epress.am that joining their group recently are the parents of Tigran Hambardzumyan and the entire family of Aghasi Abrahamyan, both men killed in the army these past two months.

Despite the light rain this morning, protestors stayed outside the building till the end. They were holding posters and placards in their hands with such inscriptions as “End the war against our children,” “People unable to keep their own army will be forced to keep another’s army,” “The army without murderers,” and “An unannounced war against Armenian soldiers.”