Armenian Army: 3 Non-Combat Deaths in 5 Days. Activists to Protest Outside President’s Residence

Another non-combat death in the army took place yesterday — Yerevan resident Aram Melkonyan, 21, died in one of the military units in the northern Armenian town of Idjevan. A civic initiative group known as the “Army in Reality” subsequently issued a statement:

“In the last 5 days, 3 soldiers have killed themselves in the Armenian army [note: in Armenian, the word “suicide” is written “self-murder.” The statement thus writes the word this way “self-MURDER”].

“Recent victims:
Oct. 9 – Vladimir Asatryan, 19, Kharberd resident
Oct. 12 – Yurik Nersisyan, 19, Kharberd resident
Oct. 13 – Aram Melkonyan, 21, Yerevan resident

“This list grows by the hour. We must take action now to stop this. The Supreme Commander in Chief [the country’s president] is obliged to guarantee that ALL our sons conscripted into the army return home alive and well.

“There will be a protest outside the presidential residence at 1 pm on Oct. 14.”