Don’t Have to Announce Every Detail of Our Work to the World, Insists Defense Minister

Those who won’t tolerate emergency incidents in the Armenian army first and foremost are the army’s leadership, who have better knowledge of the situation, said Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan in a televised interview on Monday.

“We’re the first ones who want to uncover [the circumstances], since the disclosure of any crime strengthens the discipline in the army and creates an atmosphere toward improving personal relations. In this day and age, we can’t hide anything from our public. The parents of all affected soldiers participate in this process. Regretfully, based on confidentiality, we don’t make them participants of all of our consultations and meetings. If they were present at least once, they would see how strict we are at those meetings. Thus, we are open before the public; there is no atmosphere of impunity. For every incident a criminal case is launched: we announce whoever is subject to criminal liability; whoever isn’t, they receive disciplinary penalties. I find that we shouldn’t announce every trifle of our everyday work to the entire world,” he said.

Weighing in on issues related to the military draft last fall, the defense minister said that during the draft, the ministry pays greater attention to medical issues.

“We have made a lot of progress from draft to draft, but there are also omissions: we take note of cases of bribery and the risks of corruption increase along with fastidiousness. The defense ministry, the police, the security service and the prosecutor’s office take serious measures likewise on these issues,” Ohanyan said.