Yesterday the RA citizens were celebrating the 16th anniversary of the liberation of Shushi in Yerablur and the 63rd anniversary of the victory in the WWII in the Victory park.
Since early morning the Victory park looked festive. Soldiers of honor were lined along the museum, veterans of the World War II were walking around with numerous medals, dance and singing bands and chores were preparing for their turns. Employees of state institutions were waiting for their bosses, the statesmen, to be authorized to lay flowers on the monument. The police had surrounded the park from early morning. They wouldn’t let anyone approach it till the governmental officials would arrive. They didn’t allow people approach it till the government officials launched the ceremony and completed it. International diplomats accredited in Armenia were also waiting for that moment. On the other corner of the park they had arranged a “filed kitchen,” which has already become a tradition. The military citizens tasted military food. The grouped veterans were remembering the years of the war and their victorious activities and then they would start to complain of the current reality. Besides the usual social issue related complaints this year we as an addition had the events of March 1. “We are fragmented and don’t ever unite. Levon confused this nation. I have never seen anything positive during his presidency. I have gathered some pennies for my funeral and you all know what happened. Let’s see what Serzh is going to do,” says a war veteran named Hayastan Hovhannisyan. One of his counterparts would oppose by saying “It wasn’t Levon, who ordered to open fire at the innocent citizens.” The day of victory and the anniversary of the liberation of Shushi is the cherished day of our calendar when we perceive ourselves as an entire unity- as triumphed people, a dignified nation and state that has earned the right to voice its opinion on the global level. Of course, all kinds of disputes and struggles around political beliefs, economic interests and other permanent and temporary values are possible inside such unity, but when the conversation goes around the May victories uniting us and the common responsibility deriving thereof, there automatically arises the following question: what do we have to divide in this particular sphere? The veterans were happy that Serzh Sargsyan made their honor pension from 10.000 to 20.000. However, this fact meanwhile irritated some of them because no matter that this amount is not going to be enough to pay the increased gas price, bread and everything else. “If they are raising our pensions then they shouldn’t raise the price of staple goods. Otherwise they give with one hand and take away with the other one. Moreover, they take away more than what they give,” would say another veteran, who was complaining and meanwhile eating the rice noodles. At 11:00 o’clock Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and NA chairman Tigran Torosyan arrived together with several MPs. They laid flower wreathes on the monument of the unknown soldier, listened to the victorious march played by the military orchestra and visited the WWII museum. Before that they went to Yerablur and paid their honor due to the deceased soldiers of Karabakh war. RA President Serzh Sargsyan, Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and many NA MPs were not able to attend this ceremony because they were in Karabakh. T. Sargsyan and T. Torosyan also visited the “field kitchen,” congratulated the veterans on their victory and sat around the same table. Yesterday Harutyun Harutyunyan, who was serving military food to the Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, said that he had served with Sargsyan for two years in Germany. Harutyunyan was Sargsyan’s commander. “He was serving very well. He was a disciplined and careful soldier. He was in the tank battalion,” said Harutyunyan. However, the biography of Sargsyan doesn’t say that the he had ever joined the army. It means that he didn’t go to the army. He just became a reserve soldier at the graduation. “It was good porridge and our soldiers eat it every day,” said the Prime Minister after he exited the military tent and praised the lunch prepared by his former commander. “I decided that my son must join the army by all means and become an officer. He is 7 now and starting from today we need to prepare him for that.” We may assume that if Tigran Sargsyan didn’t like the army food the Prime Minister would decide that his son shouldn’t join the army. “I think that it is very important for us to provide good meals for our soldiers. I am sure that we didn’t have all that during the war years,” said the NA chairman Tigran Torosyan and added on the occasion, “They fell at the war battle to ensure that we strengthen our army the way it is now. Our army is able to protect the fatherland. I think that the victories were achieved in the environment of solidarity and unanimity. This is a holiday, which should make all of us equally happy. We must all celebrate it.” After the official part of the celebration the officials gathered at the café of the entrance of the park to celebrate the holiday. Meanwhile a group of people gathered near the entrance of the park and they all started to exclaim, “Levon, Levon, victory, freedom!” That is when they were meeting the first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan. When the officials witnessed that they immediately entered the café. If they lingered a few more seconds in front of the café they wouldn’t help encountering Ter-Petrosyan. Accompanied by opposition leaders and several thousand of supporters Ter-Petrosyan walked up the stairs of the park. They laid flowers on the monument and left. As soon as Ter-Petrosyan left the park the statesmen followed him. During that whole period the gathered people were exclaiming the same words. People saw off Ter-Petrosyan with applause and welcoming words. Afterward they all walked to the park named after Komitas, where the “Hima” (now) youth movement organized an exhibition-action. They exhibited the photos of Ter-Petrosyan’s supporters on the ropes tied from tree to tree. Those were the photos of supporters, who are currently imprisoned. The members of the initiative think that the whole Armenian nation is politically imprisoned by the incumbent government. “They are all political prisoners, so are we all,” said a member of the movement Arayik Harutyunyan. “We and they are dangerous for the criminal government for the bandit state,” said Gayane Ghazaryan.