Armenian repatriate soldiers, Diaspora Armenian freedom fighters having participated in the first Artsakh war and guests from Armenia and the Diaspora participated in the event that the RA Ministry of Diaspora held on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of the formation of the Armenian Army. My interview for Hayern Aysor was with one of them, our compatriot from Hungary, Andranik Bezjian.

Karine Avagyan: Mr. Bezjyan, please describe your family.

Andranik Bezjian: My forefathers were born in Western Armenia. In 1910, my extended family moved from Sasun to Aintab (Gaziantep) and then to Aleppo where they received help from a sheikh by the name of Muhammad. An Armenian school in Istanbul is named after our family and in honor of my grandmother. My forefather was Doctor, Professor Alexan Khoja-Bezjan, who educated nearly 28 remarkable doctors during the era of the Ottoman Empire. Alexan Khoja-Bezjan died in Aleppo. One of my other forefathers, well-known Dashnak, Dr. Hovsep Bezjian, who was a famous member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutyun and provided great assistance to the establishment and empowerment of the political party. This is my extended family, and I am proud of the members of that family.

Karine Avagyan: Did you participate in the first Artsakh war?

Andranik Bezjian: I personally didn’t participate in the war. My friend, one of the members of ASALA Mkrtich Mataghyan and I decided to go to Lebanon and train so that we could leave for Karabakh, but unfortunately, my father passed away, and I got enlisted in the Syrian army. I served for three years in Lebanon, Jordan and on the borders of Turkey. I participated in military operations and was wounded, but it is a pity that I was wounded in the Arab army, while my friend, Mkrtich committed suicide in Istanbul.

Karine Avagyan: You have faced quite a lot of hardships…

Andranik Bezjian: Yes, I have faced many hardships, but I faced the most hardships while fighting against Ramil Safarov’s crime in Hungary and was sentenced to ten days in prison. During those days, I gathered over 10,000 people to fight against the court ruling, but unfortunately, the President of Hungary defended the assassin.

Karine Avagyan: Mr. Bezjian, what do you do in Hungary? What is your specialization?

Andranik Bezjian: I am a financier by profession. I am a member of the Armenian Cultural Autonomy of the Armenian community  in Budapest.

Karine Avagyan: How did you establish contacts with the Ministry of Diaspora?

Andranik Bezjian: I established contacts with the Ministry of Diaspora through the “Ari Tun” Program. I have four sons and two daughters. Four of my children have participated in the program, and God willing, my other two children will participate this year. The program serves as a wonderful opportunity for young Armenians to get to know the homeland, and I am very glad that I established contacts with the Ministry of Diaspora. My children are captivated by Armenia. They think so much like Armenians that my elder son, who is 25 years old, wanted to go to Karabakh and fight during the war in April and get married to a girl in Armenia. I am 50 years old, but am ready to serve in the Armenian Army as well.

Karine Avagyan: What is your wish for the 25-year-old Armenian Army and Armenia?

Andranik Bezjian: I am very glad that I have lived this kind of a life and there is an Armenian Army. Our lives would be meaningless without a powerful army and Homeland.

Karine Avagyan: What does the Homeland mean to you?

Andranik Bezjian: For me, the Homeland is the land of the Armenians, the Armenians and our army. For me, the Homeland is the land of our ancestors, Historical Armenia. I want to see a united and powerful Armenia.

Interview by Karine Avagyan