I Considered it Necessary to Apologize, but Not to Resign: Avanesyan

After the government meeting, during a press conference with journalists, Acting Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan addressed the inadequate conditions for the storage of the bodies of those killed in the Artsakh war. She stated that when violations, improper attitudes, or mistakes are recorded in the sector, the issue must be raised and assessed, not generalized to criticize the entire system.

“All the details regarding the bodies are extremely sensitive and delicate topics, and any issue can be used for political maneuvering. I am surprised that even the fact that the bodies were in bags became a matter of significant discussion, which is unacceptable to me. Certain opportunistic interpretations mix with specific problems, stirring up storms,” said Avanesyan, reaffirming that they should definitely have been in bags.

Regarding the imperative to resign due to the incident, she noted that she did not consider it necessary and felt that an apology was sufficient. “I considered it appropriate that such a sensitive issue caused additional pain to the relatives, and yes, taking responsibility, I apologized, and that should be part of our culture. I deemed it necessary to apologize, but did not consider it necessary to resign, because I believe there is a specific individual oversight,” she stated.

Anahit Avanesyan also mentioned that they cannot keep bodies for a long time if their relatives do not pick them up, and the state should take responsibility for the funerals of the victims.