‘They All Get the Punishment They Deserve’: Defense Minister on Army Incidents

Criminal proceedings have been launched on all unlawful incidents in the army; law enforcement agencies are working on it; there are no cases in which the guilty have not been found and detained, said Armenian defense minister Seyran Ohanyan (pictured), addressing relatives of young men killed while serving in the army during a period of non combat and journalists after the government meeting today.

 

“We have to have a little bit of patience so the law enforcement officials conclude [their work]. The number of emergency accidents that happen in the army every year is publicized — every single incident pains us; [however,] this number is declining. There has not been an atmosphere of impunity in the army and there isn’t today [either]. They all get the punishment they deserve. And let me say, it’s not possible to hid any incident in the army; all are within a legal framework,” he said.

 

The defense minister also suggested the youth of the civic initiative the “Army in Reality”, who were protesting the situation in Armenia’s armed forces outside the government building, to meet with him.

 

“There are youth here; if there is any active group that wants to speak with me, I am ready to talk,” he said.

 

However, Epress.am spoke with “Army in Reality” member Lala Aslikyan, who said that the youth who at the time were standing outside protesting are not preparing to meet with Ohanyan.

 

“I think, there’s no point. Let the time that he was going to meet with us be used so that there is no recorded case of army deaths this week,” she said.

 

Note, after yesterday’s discussion on the army organized by several human rights organizations and other groups, at which state officials, human rights campaigners, journalists and relatives of killed soldiers were present, the relatives were asked to go to the military police division and, according to the parents, they were persuaded “in a very subtle way” not to participate in the Thursday protests and, as far as the parents insist, they were asked “not to politicize the issue.”