David Grigoryan Celebrates the Birth of a Fantastic Hero Today

Spokesperson for the 5165 movement, David Grigoryan, wrote on his Facebook page: “Today is the birthday of this fantastic guy. The hero is Monte, not those who came to power imitating him. He is a national hero of Armenia and Artsakh, a guy who arrived from the ends of the world in response to the call of the Fatherland's struggle, liberated Karvachar, and restored historical justice. Happy birthday, warrior! Your glory is eternal. The photograph was taken in 1993, before the liberation of Karvachar.

It is worth mentioning that Monte Melkonyan, a national hero of Armenia and Artsakh, would have turned 64 today. Monte was born in 1957 into a family of Armenians who survived the Great Genocide and settled in the village of Visalia, California, USA. By the age of 22, he was fluent in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Persian, Japanese, and Kurdish.

Starting in 1980, Monte joined the Armenian secret liberation army and quickly became one of its leaders. On November 11, 1981, he was arrested at Orly Airport in France for carrying a fake passport and a firearm. He was sentenced to four months in prison, after which the court decided to deport him from France. In 1985, Monte returned to France with a false passport and was arrested again a few months later for organizing terrorism. He was released from prison on January 16, 1989.

In 1991, he arrived in Armenia, where armed clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis had already begun. In September of that year, he went to Nagorno-Karabakh, where he was given the nickname Avo. In 1992, Monte took on the duties of chief of staff for the Martuni defensive area. In a short time, he won not only the love and respect of the local population but of the entire Armenian nation.

In March and April of 1993, under his leadership, Karvachar was liberated. Monte was killed on June 12, 1993, by fire from an Azerbaijani armored vehicle while he and his comrades were on a reconnaissance mission near the village of Marzili in the Agdam region.

Monte is known for his words: “If we lose Artsakh, we will turn the last page of Armenian history,” a sentiment that is, now more than ever, relevant. Monte Melkonyan rests at the Yerablur military pantheon. Last year on this day, we surrendered Karvachar to the enemy without a fight, and five days later, the northern part of Kashatagh. But Monte did not want it that way; we must remember the hero's words again, otherwise, we will turn the last page of our history.