Relatives of dead soldiers urge to cancel celebrations on occasion of Armenia’s Independence Day

In their appeal to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, about 350 parents and relatives of soldiers who were killed in the 2020 autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh, called on to cancel the celebrations timed to the Independence Day of Armenia.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that the Armenian authorities decided to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the country’s independence on a large scale, but the public criticized those plans. Armenian human rights defenders note it is inappropriate to hold the lavish celebrations prior to the first anniversary of the 2020 autumn war.

The parents of the soldiers killed in the 2020 autumn war in Nagorno-Karabakh appealed to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with a demand to abandon the large-scale celebration on Republic Square on September 21.

“We consider a colourful concert on the occasion of Independence Day six days before the anniversary of the outbreak of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh as a sacrilege and a heinous act,” emphasizes the declaration signed by about 350 parents and relatives of the killed soldiers.

“Not a year has passed since our soldiers had been killed. Hundreds of parents and wives are looking for their [missing] sons and husbands. There are prisoners of war who are being humiliated and tortured every day. In such conditions, to hold a colourful concert and declare that the celebrations are dedicated to the dead soldiers are an insult to us and the memory of our soldiers,” the opponents of the celebration wrote in their declaration as translated from the Armenian language by the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on September 14, 2021 at 11:21 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.