If My Son Has Died, It Doesn't Mean I Don't Need Artsakh: Haikaz Mkrtchyan

Parents of heroes cannot tolerate the notion that the Artsakh defended at the cost of their sons' lives could fall under Azerbaijan’s control. This was stated by Haikaz Mkrtchyan, the father of Junior Sergeant Zaven Mkrtchyan, who died in the 44-day war, in an interview with NEWS.am, commenting on the recent announcement after negotiations in Brussels that Armenia and Azerbaijan recognize each other's territorial integrity.

“Such a thing cannot be. My son used to say during the battles in Tavush, ‘If we lose Artsakh, we will lose our homeland.’ He said, ‘If necessary, we will die for Artsakh.’ Our boys fought with this idea; they considered Artsakh their home. My son had never been to Artsakh before, but after his service, when he set foot in Artsakh, he fell in love with it immediately and decided that once he had a stable job, he would go live in Artsakh. Our sons' blood has been shed in Artsakh. If my son has died, it doesn't mean I should listen to that statement and move on. Our sons died for Artsakh, and we must continue their cause,” Mkrtchyan said.

For Zaven Mkrtchyan, Charles Michel’s announcement was not surprising. He recalls that it was Nikol Pashinyan who had previously declared from the podium of the National Assembly that he was ready to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. According to him, this way, the government is gradually trying to instill the idea in society that Artsakh will be incorporated into Azerbaijan.

“They are talking about a peace treaty, but that is impossible. The people of Artsakh cannot live under Azerbaijani control; it is impossible. Artsakh is not foreign to us; it is us. We cannot leave our compatriots to fate's whims because a genocide will occur—in the best-case scenario, the population will be allowed to leave their homeland. I have not lost hope that the Armenian nation will awaken and truly unite around the idea of saving Artsakh because there is no longer any doubt that this government pursues a policy far from Armenian interests,” Zaven Mkrtchyan noted.