“The Red Cross is telling us to bring them a video so they can find our children. The government is telling us to wait 15 days for the DNA test results to come in. We don’t know what to do. We’re waiting,” the mother of a soldier missing in action said. She and dozens of other parents protested again outside of the Ministry of Defense.
“Maybe they want a selfie with Aliyev,” another mother whose son has been missing for three months interjected.
After the war, hundreds of parents are unable to sleep because they are searching for their sons. They are going from the Ministry of Defense to the government, and from the government to the ministry.
“We came to see Onik Gasparyan. He was the one who caused all of this. He should come here and give us answers. Where are our children? They’ve been missing for four months.” According to the parents, no one answered their questions until then, but they were told that the Minister of Defense Vagharshak Harutyunyan is supposed to meet with them. They are waiting.
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“Let’s meet with him and receive the answers to our questions. Our children aren’t little chicks. They took our children, lost them, and now they don’t want to give us answers. They tell us lies every day and they send us away. But this can’t be resolved through lies. We don’t know what afternoons or evenings mean. We can’t eat. Our children have been missing for four months. We just want them to respect us and understand our pain and situation. How hasn’t any officials’ child gotten los? That’s why they’re able to sleep peacefully,” the parents said.
According to one of the parents, their child was only serving in the military for two months. He did not even know how to use a weapon, but they sent him to fight. “I leave my 1.5-year-old child every time so that I could get some news about my other child. Is he a prisoner? Is he dead? They need to answer me.”
This is the third day in which the parents have demanded a meeting with the Minister of Defense and Onik Gasparyan. They do not wish to see any other official.
“We did not give our children to the Turks. We gave them our children, so they should come and bring our children back to us. It’s been five months and we don’t know what it means to go home. We’re spending our time searching for our kids every day. They should stop waiting around. They need to go and bring our children back by looking wherever they want to. We not only gave them our children, but we now have to beg them to see where our children are,” the father of a contract soldier missing in action said, insulted and emotional.
Later on, the parents said that the minister will receive a group of 4-5 parents. The parents who would participate in the meeting made a list, and prior to entering the ministry, they said that if they find out the minister will not receive them, but another official will receive them in his place, they will leave. The parents are currently inside.
Lusine Budaghyan
