"HOVHANNES LONGED FOR CHANGES IN THIS COUNTRY"
Support A1+!Hovhannes Hovhannissyan, one of the ten victims of the March 1 events, had a long cherished dream: he wanted his daughter Gayane to go to university. But the tragic events of March 1 preceded the entrance exams. March 1 thwarted the family’s dreams.
“ I am sorry that I was unable to fulfill my husband’s dreams. After March 1 we were in such a terrible plight that nobody though of Gayane’s future. Gayane lived through hard times. She entered “Haybusak” medical college,” the victim’s wife, Lilya Minasyan, told A1+.
After the March 1 carnage, 47-year-old Lilya Minasyan became isolated from the surrounding world. She doesn’t want to hear anything of March 1 and look at her dead husband’s photos. She even turns off the TV-set whenever they refer to the tragic events.
Hovhannes Hovhannissyan was a Karabakh war veteran. He went to the front just on the first day of the war outbreak.
“Hovhannes had never taken interest in politics. But he always followed the current events. He was a real humanist. But March 1 showed that he wasn’t loved by everyone.”
The Hovhannissyans live in the centre of the city, and Hovhannes used to walk to Liberty Square to know the latest news.
“Who would have thought that the peaceful rallies at the square would end in shootings and killings. People danced, sang and joked at the square. They caused neither discomfort nor harm,” continued Mrs. Minasyan in bewilderment.
She had learnt about the shooting near the Statue of Miasnikyan later in the day.
“I was sure that Hovhannes had gone to work. It didn’t even occur to me that he was near the statue. Hovhannes didn’t return home on that day. On March 2 we were informed about his death… I was told that Hovhannes had been shot dead near St. Sargis at about 9 p.m. The bullets lodged in his belly, head and heart.”
Like many others Lilya Minasyan wants to know the answer to a most important question, “Who shot at innocent people and who gave the order?”
After the tragic events Mrs. Minasyan came to the conclusion that it is no use participating in elections. I lost the last anchor of hope. I am confident that my vote is not decisive in this country where our security is not guaranteed. I cannot sleep calmly in my flat either. I have lost interest in everyone and everything.”
The neighbours also mourn over Hovhannes’s untimely death. “I have lost a good neighbour and a good friend. He held a helping hand to everyone who was in need. We often gather and recall his deeds. We are all shocked by his death,” said artist Rostom Burnazyan.
Hovhannes was a sanitary technician. The other members of the family are unemployed.
Note, only the Heritage Party has visited the Hovhannisyans to convey condolences over Hovhaness’s loss.
