Epress.am News from Armenia
Gor Qloyan (alternative spelling: Kloyan) died on Mar. 1, 2008, in Yerevan, Armenia. His father, Sargis Qloyan, told Epress.am a little about his son’s life.
“My son Gor Qloyan was born on Dec. 15, 1979. He studied in Yerevan’s no. 11 secondary school; after graduating from school, he studied at the Faculty of Law at Yerevan Pedagogical University [present day Armenian State Pedagogical University]. After graduating, he was conscripted into the army and, for good service, they bestowed upon him the title of unit commander and sergeant. Then he came home, he didn’t work in his field, because, based on the economic situation, he worked as a manager. During that time, he was involved in, I wouldn’t say politics, but he liked to read mainly the opposition papers, he studied the political situation; he wasn’t indifferent to events in the country.
“Then he got married. He had a really good wife; he had two sons, Sargis and Lyovan. The youngest was born on Jan. 10, 2008. At that time, when Gor was killed — more correctly, he was shot point blank by this government — the youngest was one month, 20 days old, while the oldest was two and a half. For my whole life, I’ve had an industrious son who was good to his family and his parents; I’ve had a working, creative son and he liked his grandma, grandpa; he was respected by his circle of friends, but ill-fated Mar. 1 was [the first day of] spring for all, [but] for us it was a black day.”
Today is the third anniversary of Mar. 1, 2008, when mass protests against alleged electoral fraud, organized by supporters of unsuccessful presidential candidate, first president of the Republic of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian, followed the presidential election of Feb. 19, 2008, in Armenia. On Mar. 1, 2008, national police and military forces, called in to disperse the crowds, used “excessive force and violence” which left 10 people dead and many more wounded.