BOOK "ANDRANIK OF BERDADZOR" DEDICATED TO MEMORY OF HEAD OF BERDADZOR SELF-DEFENCE DETACHMENT PUBLISHED

Noyan Tapan
Mar 14 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Collection "Andranik of Berdadzor"
dedicated to the memory of one of the first organizers and heads
of Artaskh liberation struggle, head of Berdadzor self-defence
detachment Andranik Haroutiunian was published. The book includes
A. Haroutiunian’s poems, memoirs and stories, as well as articles
about him published in Armenian and Diasporan press.

In 1989, by the instruction of Hay Dat organization, A. Haroutiunian
left for Berdadzor, which was in hard conditions of blockade and headed
the self-defence of the region. He founded Berdadzor Self-Defence
Council, which developed wide activity in the region’s Armenian
villages. Schools, workshops were reopened on A. Haroutiunian’s
initiative. Today one of Berdadzor’s schools is named after
A. Haroutiunian. Films "The Way is Open" and "June, 1991" were shot
about him. A. Haroutiunian died in 1992 from a car accident.

"His name kept Turks in terror, that’s why they inflamed passions for
exterminating Andranik, they showed his eyes on TV and fixed price
of 5 mln roubles for his head, wrote that his eyes are thristy for
Turk’s blood," A. Haroutiunian’s wife, Astghik Haroutiunian said in
her interview to Noyan Tapan correspondent. In her words, Andranik of
Berdadzor was a legend and it is time again to voice the name of such
Armenian, as it is inadmissible when such heroes remain in the shade.

A. Haroutiunian stated that it is planned to publish the second part of
"Andranik of Berdadzor," as there are many other unpublished materials,
which should be presented to the public.