Today is Monte's Birthday

Today, on November 25, it is the birthday of Monte Charles Melkonyan (Avo), a national hero of Armenia. Monte was born in 1957 to an Armenian family who survived the Great Genocide and settled in the community of Visalia, California, USA.

Throughout his conscious life, he fought for the rights of Armenians, for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and for the restoration of our homeland. By the age of 22, he had already mastered English, French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Persian, Japanese, and Kurdish.

Starting from 1980, he joined the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia and quickly became one of its leaders. On November 11, 1981, Monte was arrested at Orly Airport in France for carrying a false passport and a firearm. Initially, he was sentenced to four months in prison, but later the court decided to expel him from France. In court, Monte stated, 'All Armenians carry false passports – French, American, they will be false as long as they are not Armenian.'

In 1985, he arrived in France again with a false passport and was arrested a few months later on charges of organizing 'terrorism.' Monte was released from prison on January 16, 1989.

In 1991, he came to the Republic of Armenia, where armed conflicts with Azerbaijan had already begun. In September of the same year, he traveled to the Republic of Artsakh, where he was nicknamed Avo. Due to his high level of military expertise, he took on the role of head of the Martuni defense area’s headquarters in 1992. There, in a short time, his sincerity and integrity won him the love and respect not only of the local population but of the entire Armenian community. Under his leadership, Martuni became the most fortified and combat-ready district of Artsakh. During the March-April of 1993, under his command, Karvachar was also liberated.

Monte was killed on June 12, 1993, by fire from an Azerbaijani armored vehicle while visiting the outskirts of the village of Marzili in the Agdam region for reconnaissance with his comrades.

In memory of Monte, songs have been written and performed, and many documentaries have been filmed. One of the military academies of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia is named after him; there are streets and other educational institutions bearing his name in Armenia and Artsakh. In the city of Martuni, a statue of the legendary commander stands tall, where new recruits take an oath every year to continue Monte’s legacy.