Author: Boris Nahapetian

Retired Armenian finswimmer Shavarsh Karapetyan, best known for saving the lives of 20 people in a 1976 incident in Yerevan celebrates his birthday anniversary on May 19. Karapetyan is a Merited Master of Sports of the USSR, 11-time World record-breaker, 17 times world champion, 13 times European champion and 7 times Soviet champion. 

Karapetyan however became well known in the former USSR for his heroic actions of saving peoples' lives from a sinking trolleybus which had gone out of control and fallen from a dam wall.

The incident took place in 1976 as he was doing his usual run along the dam in Yerevan, when a large trolleybus carrying 92 passengers lost control and flew off the road into the freezing water. During the impact, most of the passengers fell unconscious – the bus sank approximately 10 meters deep. Without a second of hesitation, Shavarsh leaped into the freezing water to rescue people. Diving to the depth of 10 meters, Shavarsh used his feet to break the back window of the trolleybus. One by one, he saved 20 peoples’ lives (he actually pulled out more then 20, but not everyone made it). He spent nearly 20 minutes in the frigid water and accomplished 30 dives down to the wreckage. His brother – Kamo Karapetyan – also a swimmer, took care of the injured as Shavarsh brought them up to the surface.

After his 30th dive, Shavarsh lost consciousness. This courageous act has cost him dearly; he incurred heavy 2-sided pneumonia and blood contamination from the polluted water. Doctors were unsure if Shavarsh would ever recover. His life was hanging by a thread while he stayed unconscious for 46 days. Shavarsh finally recovered, but his professional career was at an end. 

Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN Mher Margaryan delivered remarks at the UN General Assembly plenary meeting on the responsibility to protect and the prevention of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity on Monday, May 17.

“Addressing and countering hate speech remain crucial priorities in delivering on the genocide prevention agenda. Incitement to hatred and hate crimes, denial, justification or glorification of past crimes, along with instances of racial and ethnic profiling constitute the detectable early warning signs, which, if unaddressed, can lead to further violence and atrocities,” the Armenian diplomat said.

Margaryan stated Armenia, whose people have undergone through the horrors of Genocide in the early 20th century, will continue to support strong focus on the early action to prevent situations, which can result in atrocities.

“As the main sponsor of the UN General Assembly resolution instituting the International Day of the 9th December as the Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, Armenia is fully committed to strengthening this important platform, most notably, through thematic events aimed at fostering cooperation for prevention of atrocity crimes and the further development of national and international early warning mechanisms,” he said.

Margaryan underlined that Azerbaijan’s continued failure to release the numerous prisoners of war (POWs) and civilian hostages who are still being held in captivity, the ongoing provocations by way of incursions into the territory of Armenia, as well as the wide-spread state-led campaign of dehumanization of Armenians “come to manifest that the genocidal ideology does not merely belong to history.”

“This is a source of grave concern that needs to be properly identified and acknowledged to prevent further atrocities,” he said. 

It is hard to imagine a bigger threat to Artsakh than the uncertainty surrounding its status, according to Armenian military expert Tigran Abrahamyan, head of the analytical center Henaket. 

"This is directly linked to the security of Artsakh. If we take into account the provisions of the November 9 trilateral statement, in particular, the 5-year term of arrangements, it becomes clear that in every five years, we will face a threat of renewed war due to the unresolved status,” Abrahamyan wrote on Facebook on Friday.

“It is yet unclear at what cost the trilateral agreements will be extended every five years, but unfortunately, the constant risks will most certainly accompany us for decades.

“The current authorities not only failed to include this issue in the trilateral statement, but today they are not taking any practical steps to put this matter on the priority agenda.

“In such conditions the Russian side, in turn, will take a path and priorities that, first of all, fit into the framework of its regional agenda.

“Armenia, as one of the parties, is absent even from matters related to it, and after November 9, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran and the other countries have been discussing all issues concerning us with Russia,” the expert wrote.