What Former MP Sophia Hovsepyan Reveals About Her Visit to Syunik During the War

Former MP Sophia Hovsepyan writes: "Crisis management... Perhaps I would not have addressed this topic if I had not observed the problematic behavior exhibited by members of the government during their pre-election campaign...

Soon, there will be elections in the Syunik region, where the current mayors were removed in a rather controversial manner and are trying to replace them by advancing unknown candidates under the patronage of the ruling party... Is crisis management important or not? Can an inexperienced person operate in these difficult conditions? I am confident that they cannot.

I am not talking about the situation in other regions, first and foremost because there are no serious security issues at the moment, for example, in Shirak, but everyone needs to think about this question... The war and the post-war period proved that being smart or being well-read has very little impact on managing a randomly emerging crisis, and one also needs the ability and skill to manage and quickly make decisions and act...

On December 30, 2020, I left for Syunik loaded with supplies, reached Vorotan, and then Shurnukh, where people were emptying their homes, as they were to hand them over to the Azerbaijanis the next day after the New Year... The cloud of silence and heaviness hung over the place; the villager greeted passersby with a mournful and uncertain expression, the news had reached everyone, and few stopped in Shurnukh...

I arrived at the village administration; the mayors of Vorotan and Shurnukh stood atop a hill looking at the enemy's already fortified positions. They were happy to see me, as they had no hope that anyone from the government would come there, especially on the eve of the New Year...

We talked for a long time, discussed what needed to be done; I approached the emptying houses, and it was truly a mysterious silence of mourners. Women were packing goods into boxes, while men were loading them into cars. The silence wasn't even broken by my greeting... They didn't respond... What greeting...? I returned to my car and suggested to the village head to unload some supplies; I also mentioned that I could give some to the soldiers' families. The village head refused to take anything: 'Ms. Hovsepyan, our villagers and soldiers do not need anything; our community leader does everything possible. If you can, please make sure these people don’t have to leave their homes; everything else is here, Arush won’t let us be in need...'

Then I approached Karahunj, where both the villagers and the village head said the same thing: 'Arush won’t leave us in need... We need to be armed...'

On January 1, I arrived in Artsakh; it was a heavy day, and at the Armenia hotel, I met with the parents of fallen soldiers. They were waiting silently and thoughtfully for the chaos caused by Aliyev to end so they could begin the search for retrieving the bodies... The following unfortunate day, they brought out 15 bodies plus 6 fresh fallen soldiers who had been tortured and killed just days earlier in the forests of Hadrut, and whose parents were confident their children would come out too.

There were no vehicles... everyone was in Tsaghkadzor... I called all the relevant departments, and each directed me to another; on that day, someone who felt a bit bold decided to yell at me when I asked when a vehicle would come so we could quickly take the bodies to Yerevan, while these six corpses could be sent immediately with the parents for burial preparation... It was a horrific scene... hope had died on that day, but against the backdrop of all this, our bigwigs were not sending vehicles; there was no time, no vehicles, no money... Finally, another suggestion came: 'Contact the mayors of Goris or Kapan...' I had heard those words throughout the war. No matter what question I called about, they would direct me to the mayor of Goris or Kapan, sometimes even to the regional governor.

The question was resolved with significant conflict, but still, this question remained in me: why the mayors of Goris or Kapan and not the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Territorial Administration, etc... Why...? Throughout the war, I did not question this as I thought, what difference does it make, but after the war, it was impossible not to ask...

Now, if those people managed the crisis, why were they treated this way? Are you sure your candidates will light a candle tomorrow? Are you sure that if the state's pre-election promises do not come true, these cities will not be left abandoned? I am not confident, and therefore I urge the people of Goris and Kapan, do not forget about the dangers you face, do not be misled by empty promises, and show your determination by not choosing false candidates, and remember that 'a tested bread is better than inexperienced yogurt' is safe and secure... Wisdom to you..."