Epress.am News from Armenia
Information policy expert Vahram Mirakyan today turned his attention to the recent deaths in Armenia’s armed forces. RA Ministry of Defense Public Council member and military psychologist David Jamalyan was also supposed to be at today’s press conference; however, Mirakyan said that due to family issues, Jamalyan was unable to attend.
Providing as an example the US and Russian armed forces, who “are considered to be the world’s most efficient troops,” and referring to the recent deaths of young conscripts in the Armenian army, Mirakyan said that unfortunate cases take place in the US and Russia too and “that’s normal.” He said that he was pretty convinced that in Russia and in the US, one doesn’t come across media outlets that state that the defense minister should commit suicide (as some Armenian media recently claimed).
“That’s an extreme approach,” he said, “demanding the minister commit suicide is an act of vandalism; nothing is resolved with that act.” In the policy expert’s opinion, Armenian media have relied mainly on rumors and not on official sources for their news.
“As for publishing news on the army, I advise you to make use of official sources,” he said, adding that information based on rumors and gossip, for instance, provides an opportunity for Azerbaijan’s public to once again laugh at incidents in Armenia.
“In the case of publishing news on the army, the positions of state structures are stronger in Azerbaijan, and there, such cases are practically not raised by the media,” said Mirakyan, convinced that Azerbaijan’s approach is worthy of being replicated in Armenia.
He once again stated that demanding the defense minister to commit suicide or to resign doesn’t resolve the issue, the guilty are not punished, and such “vicious, negative attitude” by the media misinforms the public and paints a false picture of the Armenian army.