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Meeting Armenian Defense Forces of Iraqi Kurdistan
Hamo Moskofian, Hawrezg-Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan,
27 September 2014
Before heading to Hawrezg, Kurdistan, we paid a "traditional" visit to
the Holy Nerses Shnorhali Church in Duhok. The church was constructed
by architect and now Member of Parliament Yerwant Aminian. We were
warmly received at the church by the brave Father Massis Shahinian,
pastor of the community.
Commander Murad Vardanian - Third from left
Following the visit, we drove to Hawrezg--45-minutes away by car. The
Hawrezg village, constructed in 1928 through the efforts of Levon
Pasha Shaghoyan, was reconstructed in 2006 by the former Minister of
Finance of Iraqi Kurdistan Sarkis Aghajan, an Armenian from maternal
side.
As opposed to my last year's visit to the settlement, this time I
encountered armed Armenian fedayees in the village. They stopped our
"Parliamentarian" Jeep and upon learning that we had come to visit
Murad Vardanian, their commander and the head of the village council
("moukhtar), they guided us to Vardanian's modest house.
A week earlier, the LBCI sattelite channel of Lebanon had aired an
interview with the Armenian hero. Vardanian had said that Armenians
had armed themselves to defend the 19,000-strong Armenian community,
specially in Dhok, Hawrezg, Avzruk, Ishkender, and Zakho.
I did not know that Vardanian had been an Iraqi army commander for
eight years and had seen action in several wars. His aides had also
been in the Iraqi army. The walls of his modest and cozy house were
covered with machine guns, sniper weapons, pistols and photos of
Armenian fedayees and that of beloved Levon Pasha Shaghoyan.
I asked Commander Murad how he and his followers had chosen the
dangerous path of struggle against a ferocious foe like ISIS while
thousands of other Iraqis had fled from their villages, leaving even
their firearms behind?
"As Armenians, we are famous for our intellect and courage. The Kurds
and the Iraqi Kurdistan state leaders respect us immensely. We,
Armenians, are born and raised with eagles and lions. If necessary, we
will die as lions too," said Commander Murad.
He added: "We fought much greater battles in the eight-year Iraq-Iran
War and stopped the massive attacks of thousands of enemy troops.
These ISIS people are a bunch of killers and crooks, armed mainly by
Turkey and its allies. ISIS will be defeated by the united force of
Armenians and our Kurdish brothers."
Vardanian said that the day he announced the formation of an Armenian
defense force, 36 Armenians who had served in the Iraqi army, joined
his nascent group. "As we began to buy weapons and bullets through our
own resources our troops grew bigger and bigger. New recruits came
from all over the Armenian villages and towns of Iraqi Kurdistan,"
said Vardanian.
"We went to confront the treacherous enemy on the riverbank, before
they reached our villages," said the Armenian commander, and added: "A
delegation of the Kurdistan government visited us. They were extremely
happy to see their Armenian brothers defending their second motherland
beside Armenia...They promised all kinds of help."
Like Father Shahinian and Kurdistan MP Aminian, the heroic commander
was surprised and angry that the Armenian ambassador in Baghdad and
the Armenian authorities in Yerevan have shown no interest in Iraqi
Armenians. "Anyhow, we will go to the aid of Nagorno-Karabagh, if it
is attacked by Azerbaijan," said the patriotic commander.
http://www.keghart.com/Moskofian-Vardanian-Commander-Iraq
From: A. Papazian
Hamo Moskofian, Hawrezg-Duhok, Iraqi Kurdistan,
27 September 2014
Before heading to Hawrezg, Kurdistan, we paid a "traditional" visit to
the Holy Nerses Shnorhali Church in Duhok. The church was constructed
by architect and now Member of Parliament Yerwant Aminian. We were
warmly received at the church by the brave Father Massis Shahinian,
pastor of the community.
Commander Murad Vardanian - Third from left
Following the visit, we drove to Hawrezg--45-minutes away by car. The
Hawrezg village, constructed in 1928 through the efforts of Levon
Pasha Shaghoyan, was reconstructed in 2006 by the former Minister of
Finance of Iraqi Kurdistan Sarkis Aghajan, an Armenian from maternal
side.
As opposed to my last year's visit to the settlement, this time I
encountered armed Armenian fedayees in the village. They stopped our
"Parliamentarian" Jeep and upon learning that we had come to visit
Murad Vardanian, their commander and the head of the village council
("moukhtar), they guided us to Vardanian's modest house.
A week earlier, the LBCI sattelite channel of Lebanon had aired an
interview with the Armenian hero. Vardanian had said that Armenians
had armed themselves to defend the 19,000-strong Armenian community,
specially in Dhok, Hawrezg, Avzruk, Ishkender, and Zakho.
I did not know that Vardanian had been an Iraqi army commander for
eight years and had seen action in several wars. His aides had also
been in the Iraqi army. The walls of his modest and cozy house were
covered with machine guns, sniper weapons, pistols and photos of
Armenian fedayees and that of beloved Levon Pasha Shaghoyan.
I asked Commander Murad how he and his followers had chosen the
dangerous path of struggle against a ferocious foe like ISIS while
thousands of other Iraqis had fled from their villages, leaving even
their firearms behind?
"As Armenians, we are famous for our intellect and courage. The Kurds
and the Iraqi Kurdistan state leaders respect us immensely. We,
Armenians, are born and raised with eagles and lions. If necessary, we
will die as lions too," said Commander Murad.
He added: "We fought much greater battles in the eight-year Iraq-Iran
War and stopped the massive attacks of thousands of enemy troops.
These ISIS people are a bunch of killers and crooks, armed mainly by
Turkey and its allies. ISIS will be defeated by the united force of
Armenians and our Kurdish brothers."
Vardanian said that the day he announced the formation of an Armenian
defense force, 36 Armenians who had served in the Iraqi army, joined
his nascent group. "As we began to buy weapons and bullets through our
own resources our troops grew bigger and bigger. New recruits came
from all over the Armenian villages and towns of Iraqi Kurdistan,"
said Vardanian.
"We went to confront the treacherous enemy on the riverbank, before
they reached our villages," said the Armenian commander, and added: "A
delegation of the Kurdistan government visited us. They were extremely
happy to see their Armenian brothers defending their second motherland
beside Armenia...They promised all kinds of help."
Like Father Shahinian and Kurdistan MP Aminian, the heroic commander
was surprised and angry that the Armenian ambassador in Baghdad and
the Armenian authorities in Yerevan have shown no interest in Iraqi
Armenians. "Anyhow, we will go to the aid of Nagorno-Karabagh, if it
is attacked by Azerbaijan," said the patriotic commander.
http://www.keghart.com/Moskofian-Vardanian-Commander-Iraq
From: A. Papazian