Narek Karapetyan: Armenia could have had a different position in the region if not for the tragedy of October 27

ArmInfo. If the tragedy of October 27, 1999 had not occurred, Armenia would have had greater opportunities to become a competitive country in the region, including militarily. Head of the “Strong Armenia” faction Narek Karapetyan stated this in a conversation with journalists after lawmakers from the political force laid flowers at the memorial to the victims of the October 27, 1999 terrorist attack.

He noted that for all segments of society, especially for the families directly affected by the tragedy, this issue remains open. According to him, it is necessary to consistently move toward establishing the truth, in particular, to determine the motives and causes of what happened. "During the 8 years in power, it was possible to ensure a fair investigation and achieve concrete results. I oppose political speculation around this issue. At the same time, our principled position is that it is necessary to establish exactly how the tragedy of October 27 occurred," the politician noted.

According to him, this should primarily be handled by the investigative bodies responsible for investigating the circumstances of what happened 27 years ago. Karapetyan recalled that on the day of the tragedy, his father was also in the building of the National Assembly of Armenia, and stressed that to this day there are many families that have no answers to the questions troubling them. He noted that to prevent similar tragedies in the future, it is necessary, above all, to abandon rhetoric leading to division and stop the incitement of hatred, since it is precisely such an atmosphere that fuels radical sentiments. "If hatred is fueled for years, it inevitably leads to grave consequences. First of all, it is necessary to establish all the circumstances of what happened, and only after that provide not only a legal but also a political assessment. If the tragedy of October 27, 1999 had not occurred, Armenia would have had significant opportunities to become a competitive country in the region, including militarily. And then the country would not have found itself in its current situation," stated the head of the largest opposition parliamentary faction.

Responding to the statement by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia that the investigation into the case is ongoing, Karapetyan noted that they have been hearing this for 7 years in a row.

It should be recalled that on October 27, 1999, an armed group of five people led by former journalist Nairi Hunanian stormed into the session hall of the National Assembly of Armenia and shot those present in the hall. As a result of the attack, prominent state and political figures were killed: National Assembly Speaker Karen Demirchyan, Prime Minister of Armenia Vazgen Sargsyan, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Yuri Bakhshyan, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ruben Miroyan, Minister for Operational Affairs Leonard Petrosyan, and Members of Parliament Armenak Armenakyan, Mikhail Kotanyan, and Genrik Abrahamyan. The trial concluded in December 2003. Six defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, while one (Hamlet Stepanyan) was sentenced to 14 years in prison.

In December 2019, the resumption of the investigation was announced. Almost 7 years later, on October 27, 2026, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Armenia reported that, as part of the investigation into the case, more than a dozen interrogations had been conducted and requests for information had been sent. During this period, the supervisory authority also issued three instructions to the operational body to carry out operational-search measures. By decision of the prosecutor, several classified documents were seized and examined, and confidential investigative actions are being conducted.