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ARTSAKH WAR LEGEND, MONTE MELKONYAN, DIED 19 YEARS AGO TODAY (VIDEO)
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2012/06/12/monte-melqonyan/
12.06.12
Famed Armenian commander Monte Melkonyan (aka Avo), who fought for
the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s, died his hero's
death in the fierce battle 19 years ago on this today.
Monte was awarded the national hero's title posthumously.
He moved to Karabakh from the early periods of the struggle; before
that, at the beginning of 1991, he founded a detachment called
Patriotic.
Simple and straightforward, absolutely contemptuous of material values,
a lover of nature and a man constantly yearning to learn - this is
how one of Monte's friends, Alec Yenigmoshyan, characterizes the hero.
"He had made up his mind to come to the Soviet Armenia then,
and because he was not issued a visa, he decided to settle in an
Armenian-populated community in the Middle East; he was already
determined to tie his future to the Armenian nation's fate," he told
Tert.am, sharing his recollections about the war legend.
Melkonian was born on November 25, 1957 to the family of Charles and
Zabel Melkonians. His interest in his background only sparked at the
age of eleven, when his family went on a year-long trip to Europe in
1969. After taking Spanish courses in Spain, he travelled to Turkey
to visit Merzifon, the native town of his maternal grandparents.
Returning to the United States, he graduated from high school and
entered the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in ancient
Asian history and Archeology. In 1978 he helped to organize an
exhibition of Armenian cultural artifacts at one of the university's
libraries. The section of the exhibit dealing with the 1915-23 genocide
was removed by university authorities, at the request of the Turkish
consul general in San Francisco. The display that was removed was
eventually reinstalled following a campus protest movement. After
graduating from U.C. Berkeley in the spring of 1978, Monte traveled
to Iran, where he taught English and participated in the movement to
overthrow the Shah. Years later, in southern Lebanon, he occasionally
wore the uniform of the Kurdish peshmerga which he was given in
Iranian Kurdistan. In the fall of 1978, Monte made his way to Beirut,
the capital of Lebanon, in time to participate in the defense of the
Armenian quarter against by the right-wing Phalange forces. At this
time, he met his long-time confidante and future wife, Seta Kbranian.
onte was affiliated with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and
was a permanent member of the militia's bases in Bourj Hamoud,Western
Beirut, Antelias and other regions for almost two years, during
which time he participated in several street battles against rightist
forces. He also began working behind the lines in Phalangist controlled
territory, on behalf of the "Leftist and Muslim" Lebanese National
Movement. By this time, he was speaking Armenian, which became his
fourth or fifth language as he had not learned it until adulthood.
In the spring of 1980, Monte was inducted into the Armenian Secret
Army for the Liberation of Armenia, ASALA, and secretly relocated
to West Beirut. Hpent over three years in France's prisons. He was
released in early 1989 and after traveling to several countries,
he finally arrived in what was then still Soviet Armenia. With the
Artsakh liberation war already in its early stages, he decided to
join the battle in September 1991. In 1992, by the proposal of the
then defense minister, Vazgen Sargsyan, he assumed the duties of a
military headquarters chief of in Martuni region.
Later that year he was already a commander. His role in the liberation
of Karvachar, a town in the north-east of Nagorno-Karabakh Karabakh,
was invaluable.
"Monte was very knowledgeable, both in terms of education and life
experience. I endlessly remember him saying, 'I want to learn',"
Yenigmosyan said, remembering the hero.
http://www.tert.am/en/news/2012/06/12/monte-melqonyan/
12.06.12
Famed Armenian commander Monte Melkonyan (aka Avo), who fought for
the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh in the 1990s, died his hero's
death in the fierce battle 19 years ago on this today.
Monte was awarded the national hero's title posthumously.
He moved to Karabakh from the early periods of the struggle; before
that, at the beginning of 1991, he founded a detachment called
Patriotic.
Simple and straightforward, absolutely contemptuous of material values,
a lover of nature and a man constantly yearning to learn - this is
how one of Monte's friends, Alec Yenigmoshyan, characterizes the hero.
"He had made up his mind to come to the Soviet Armenia then,
and because he was not issued a visa, he decided to settle in an
Armenian-populated community in the Middle East; he was already
determined to tie his future to the Armenian nation's fate," he told
Tert.am, sharing his recollections about the war legend.
Melkonian was born on November 25, 1957 to the family of Charles and
Zabel Melkonians. His interest in his background only sparked at the
age of eleven, when his family went on a year-long trip to Europe in
1969. After taking Spanish courses in Spain, he travelled to Turkey
to visit Merzifon, the native town of his maternal grandparents.
Returning to the United States, he graduated from high school and
entered the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in ancient
Asian history and Archeology. In 1978 he helped to organize an
exhibition of Armenian cultural artifacts at one of the university's
libraries. The section of the exhibit dealing with the 1915-23 genocide
was removed by university authorities, at the request of the Turkish
consul general in San Francisco. The display that was removed was
eventually reinstalled following a campus protest movement. After
graduating from U.C. Berkeley in the spring of 1978, Monte traveled
to Iran, where he taught English and participated in the movement to
overthrow the Shah. Years later, in southern Lebanon, he occasionally
wore the uniform of the Kurdish peshmerga which he was given in
Iranian Kurdistan. In the fall of 1978, Monte made his way to Beirut,
the capital of Lebanon, in time to participate in the defense of the
Armenian quarter against by the right-wing Phalange forces. At this
time, he met his long-time confidante and future wife, Seta Kbranian.
onte was affiliated with the Armenian Revolutionary Federation and
was a permanent member of the militia's bases in Bourj Hamoud,Western
Beirut, Antelias and other regions for almost two years, during
which time he participated in several street battles against rightist
forces. He also began working behind the lines in Phalangist controlled
territory, on behalf of the "Leftist and Muslim" Lebanese National
Movement. By this time, he was speaking Armenian, which became his
fourth or fifth language as he had not learned it until adulthood.
In the spring of 1980, Monte was inducted into the Armenian Secret
Army for the Liberation of Armenia, ASALA, and secretly relocated
to West Beirut. Hpent over three years in France's prisons. He was
released in early 1989 and after traveling to several countries,
he finally arrived in what was then still Soviet Armenia. With the
Artsakh liberation war already in its early stages, he decided to
join the battle in September 1991. In 1992, by the proposal of the
then defense minister, Vazgen Sargsyan, he assumed the duties of a
military headquarters chief of in Martuni region.
Later that year he was already a commander. His role in the liberation
of Karvachar, a town in the north-east of Nagorno-Karabakh Karabakh,
was invaluable.
"Monte was very knowledgeable, both in terms of education and life
experience. I endlessly remember him saying, 'I want to learn',"
Yenigmosyan said, remembering the hero.