Parents of missing soldiers stage sit-in in Armenia’s Etchmiadzin

Panorama, Armenia
Jan 8 2021

Parents of about 30 servicemen who went missing during the 44-day war in Artsakh, have staged a sit-in protest outside a military unit in Etchmiadzin, a city in Armenia’s Armavir Province, since Thursday, one of the missing soldiers' mother, Anahit Adoyan, told Panorama.am on Friday.

"On January 7, at 6pm, more than 30 parents gathered near the military unit to stage a sit-in. Up to this point, no one has come out of the military unit to provide answers to us. They even closed the gate with several bars so that we could not enter," the mother said.

She noted that they demanded information on their missing sons from the local officials.

"We will stay here until we get an answer. We want the commander to come here and say when he is heading to Stepanakert to deal with our problem, but we are told that commander Arsen Abgaryan is at a funeral service. What kind of memorial service is taking place at this hour?" she said.

The protesting parent also underlined that it did not make any sense to apply to the government, as their children were sent off to Artsakh from the Etchmiadzin military unit, adding they were waiting for an explanation from the military unit.