Relatives cleaning vandalized graves of April war heroes

Panorama, Armenia
Aug 1 2019

Relatives of the soldiers fallen during the 2016 April war are trying to clean the vandalized gravestones of the heroes at the Yerevan Yerablur Military Pantheon.

Numerous war veterans, reporters and lawmakers have also visited the military cemetery after a Facebook video showed soldiers’ tombstones vandalized by what appears to be melted candles.

Freedom fighter Samvel Mkrtchyan believes vandalism has been committed by a sect or it is a provocative act.

He called for consistent efforts to track down those responsible, to hold them to account and to prevent such cases of vandalism in the future.

Prosperous Armenian MP Arman Abovyan expressed conviction the vandals will be punished.

He called on the offenders to turn themselves in to police.

Earlier a police source told Panorama.am the Yerevan Police Department is studying the video at the moment.