MANVEL GRIGORIAN: ERKRAPAH THAT SAID ITS DECISIVE WORD IN ARTSAKH
FREEDOM WAR HAS THINGS TO DO TODAY

YEREVAN, MAY 8, NOYAN TAPAN. A meeting to mark Erkrapah’s Day took
place at the Sport and Concert Complex after Karen Demirchian on May
8. According to Chairman of the Erkrapah Volunteers Union (EVU), RA
Deputy Minister of Defence Lieutenant General Manvel Grigorian, the
Erkrapah that said its decisive word for Homeland’s defence during the
Artsakh war and later served as a basis for the creation of an
efficent army, today has things to do not only in case of a possible
war but also for peaceful construction and economic development. In
his words, it is also for the EVU to solve all problems facing the
country, all unresolved issues. He noted that the people today living
in Artsakh built houses and give birth to children, and it is not easy
for them to hear the press information about return of territories.

“We have no land to give, and if we say it, we must be prepared for
anything, we must stand side by side and will not allow those living
in the border areas to feel lonely,” Manvel Grigorian noted. He
appealed to the erkrapahs to be unified in order to bring the Karabakh
problem solution to a close: “The Armenian nation cannot be divided
into several parts: if we do not have a country and state, any
elections are just out of the question.” Sparapet Vazgen Sargsian’s
brother, Chairman of the Hanrapetutyun (Republic) Party Aram Sargsian
noted in his speech that Erkrapah is the most powerful body in
Armenia. In his words, it is the Erkrapah that is the master of this
country today, as it proved able to protect not only the country but
also the nation’s dignity. And many of them, including Sparapet, laid
down their lives. “Those who sacrifice their freedom for a temporary
stability, in the end have neither freedom nor stability,” Aram
Sargsian said quoting Benjamin Franklin. Leader of the National
Assembly ARF faction Levon Mkrtchian said that irrespective of their
political and ideological convictions, today’s fidayis united and
became the masters of Homeland. “It was Vazgen Sargsian’s pen that
created the word “Erkrapah” (Country Keeper), because we all are
keeping our country,” he underlined. Levon Mkrtchian said that members
of the ARF were in the erkrapah voluntary detachments from the very
first. “We should continue our struggle, and our power is in our
unity,” he stated. According to the speaker, this unity should not be
formal, and the Armenians should unite around several major
issues. “The national goals should be those main guidelines, by which
we should live and create in this difficult region,” he said. The
Armenian Prime Minister and the Defence Ministers of the RA and the
NKR sent their congratulatory messages on the occasion of Erkrapah’s
Day. State awards of the RA and the NKR, the RA Defence Ministry EVU
orders and medals were conferred on a number of erkrapahs. Many
received military awards posthumously. Prosaist Hrant Matevosian was
posthumously awarded a EVU “Sparapet Vazgen Sargsian” order.