We Were Naive to Believe That Our Search for Our Sons Was Halted Due to Opposition Rallies: Arsen Ghukasyan

Last year, while opposition protests were taking place in the capital, the relatives of soldiers were simultaneously participating in search operations in Artsakh. Arsen Ghukasyan, a relative of a missing soldier, announced near the parliament building that the search operations had ceased after some time. When they inquired about the reasons, they received information from various departments stating that the work had stopped due to the opposition's actions, after which the relatives demanded to halt the protests.

“We were told that because the political situation is tense, there are protests in the capital, and the opposition has blocked the streets, this contributes to the suspension of search operations. We, as naïve parents, said: stop it, let them bring the kids back, and then you can say what you want. We were told this by various departments, not only from Artsakh but also from Armenia. There were weeks when we were not allowed to participate in the search operations. It was as if we were being pressured not to protest, so we could go and ask the Turks to allow us to conduct search operations. We are grieving parents, lost in our sorrow,” said Ghukasyan.