The relatives of the 54 volunteer soldiers who were captured in Khtsaberd protested by closing off the Shirak provincial administration building. They said that their children happily went to defend their country, but as a result of careless treatment, they were captured in Khtsaberd.
They have been appealing to different agencies and state officials over the past seven months. They met with the Prime Minister at the Shirak provincial administration building and expressed their problems, but the parents are, as they say, being lied to until now.
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“If there is a problem, then that problem also has a solution. International laws are in place here, and the prisoners of war are immediately returned to each side after the war is over. This causes the question to rise of what the return of our boys is connected to. However, I can imagine theoretically what it is connected to, and I mentioned that to our Prime Minister, Mr. Pashinyan, during our meeting with him here. Our children have absolutely turned into trading grounds for Turks. And I asked the leader of our country what our enemy wants that we can’t give them, what they want that they won’t see from our side, and how much of that they want that we refuse to give them. Once, they said that people were exchanged with other people, and all prisoners had to be returned in exchange for all prisoners, but then that statement left the arena and turned into ‘the return of prisoners,’” one of the relatives of a prisoner of war said.
They said that they all went crazy, and this is the worst form of punishment for anyone to go through. They can’t see an end to this.
They met with the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, who, according to one of the relatives, is an intelligent and honorable person. Tatoyan wants to help them solve the case, but it is not clear if the meetings that took place over the past six months were useless, and if they need to write and sign letters to international agencies once again.
“It seems as though we need to start this case again from zero,” the relative said.
They were honest about how they did not politicize the issue. They did everything they were told patiently, so long as nothing would happen to the boys.
“We don’t know why they’re telling us to stay calm so that we don’t negatively impact the issue. In the end, everything that I’m saying is the truth and what really happened. We all know that patience has its limits. They are playing with our children’s lives. And then we get into an emotional state and wonder if we will ever see our children again. We invite the head of our country to a meeting right now.”
The relatives said that they were immediately and severely forcing the authorities to return their children.
They also said that the provincial administration building is closed off, and it will remain closed until they meet with the Prime Minister and clarify the time frame in which their children will be returned.
They also demanded a meeting with the Minister of Defense. They said that these officials need to come to Gyumri; they will not go to Yerevan. Otherwise, no campaigns will take place in the Shirak Province.
The prisoners’ relatives also said that no officials’ children are among those who died or were taken captive. In their opinion, an investigation needs to take place to see who is being conscripted. They said that even sick children are being conscripted.
Nune Arevshatyan
