On February 19, a commemorative evening dedicated to the 70th birthday of Vahan Hovhannisyan — ARF Bureau member, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Armenia to the Federal Republic of Germany, intellectual, historian, and political figure — was held at the House of Cinema of the Armenian Union of Cinematographers in Yerevan. During the evening, the film “Yours, Vahan” was presented.

“I thought for a long time about how to present Vahan Hovhannisyan. It was a great honor and responsibility to present my friend in a way that would preserve him as a value for future generations,” said Harutyun Harutyunyan, Executive Director of TV 5, in a video message, as he was unable to attend the event in person.

“For me, Vahan Hovhannisyan was an elder and a great friend. Perhaps it was my good fortune to be entrusted with the honor of making a film about him,” Harutyunyan added.

Vahan Hovhannisyan was portrayed in the film by Paruyr Santrosyan, and the film includes rare archival footage. The film was directed by Mariam Yegoryan, with a screenplay by Levon Galstyan.

Following the screening, Vahan Hovhannisyan’s party colleagues shared memories of him — from his youth to the Artsakh liberation movement and his years of active political life. Among those speaking were long-time ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margaryan; ARF Bureau representative Armen Rustamyan; ARF Armenia Supreme Body member and MP Gegham Manukyan; RPA Vice President Armen Ashotyan; and Vahan Hovhannisyan’s sister, Viktoria Hovhannisyan.

During the evening dedicated to his memory, the same flag was waved that Vahan Hovhannisyan and current ARF Bureau representative Armen Rustamyan had raised in the courtroom on December 12, 1997, during the trial of the illegally initiated criminal case against ARF members, as a symbol of freedom.

It is symbolic that even inside the courtroom they managed to remove the flag from the defendants’ cage and wave it outside the bars — as a reminder that the flag, a symbol of freedom, can never remain inside a cage that restricts freedom.

“May this flag give you strength and courage, just as it gave strength to me and my friends in a difficult moment.”

— Vahan Hovhannisyan
12.12.1997

The evening concluded with a performance by Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia Shushan Petrosyan, who sang “Yerazi Im Yerkir Hayreni” (“My Homeland, Land of My Dreams”).

It should be noted that prior to the film screening, numerous guests spoke to journalists about their personal interactions and meetings with Vahan Hovhannisyan.

Among them were former ARF Bureau representative Hakob Ter-Khachaturyan; ARF Armenia Supreme Body representative Ishkhan Saghatelyan; former Minister of Culture Roland Sharoyan; RPA member and former Deputy Minister of Defense Artak Zakaryan; RPA member Samvel Nikoyan; former MP Margarit Yesayan; and others.

Check out the full photo album of the event on Facebook.