Armenia could protect Getashen if…
"Arabo" detachment commander Manvel Yeghiazaryan says negotiations over Karabakh are impossible unless the status of Nagorno Karabakh is determined.
We propose that Karvachar, Lachin, Shahumyan, Getashen and Martunashen be declared inviolable lands. There is only one way to settle the Karabakh issue - we should all unite and stick to our position," he said.
On June 13, 1992, Azerbaijani militants attacked the Shahumyan region and exiled the Armenian population of Getashen. Members of "Arabo" detachment fought hard to protect the territories but they were unable to keep them.
Manvel Yeghiazaryan says in those years they were naïve and did not realize that superpowers were interested in the region, especially in oil.
"The Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse and all countries were in two minds - one wanted to quit Russia, the other - Europe, etc." he recalled.
Member of "Arabo" detachment Hakob Hakobyan says Shahumyan could have been saved if Armenia had received military support.
"We had a chance to keep Shahumyan but we were pressurized by outer forces. Were we supported from the rear, the fall of Shahumyan would have been avoided," he said.
Manvel Yeghiazaryan does not think that the Armenian and Azerbaijani President will sign a document during their upcoming meeting in Kazan.
"If they make such a step, they might lose their power. Our future generations will not forgive us if we sign the document, " he said.
