Defense Ministry Not Obliged to Finance Soldiers’ Treatment Abroad: Spokesperson

It is not appropriate for the RA Ministry of Defense to disclose the number of soldiers who have returned home from their military service with musculoskeletal injuries or disorders, or the causes of these problems, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia said in a press conference on Friday, April 10. Such data are confidential, as it can “create a picture for the enemy,” Hovhannisyan reasoned. 

“I have all the data on diseases and their causes. Several dozen serious injuries are registered each year, which are primarily caused by adversary attacks. However, [the soldiers] don't just receive musculoskeletal injuries; eye injuries with drastic consequences also happen, for example. We've also had malignant tumors which do not cause musculoskeletal problems, but are just as serious,” Hovhannisyan said.

The official also touched upon the case of serviceman Gevorg Yeghiazaryan, 23, who was severely injured at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in 2011, becoming paralyzed. The Armenian Defense Ministry has refused to finance the second round of his treatment, using “lack of funds” to justify the refusal. 

Today, Artsrun Hovhannisyan told journalists that “the Ministry of Defense is not obliged to finance a treatment outside Armenia.”

“But since 1 or 2, or, at most, 3-4 such cases are registered each year, when soldiers have to receive a treatment abroad, the Ministry helps everyone with no exception. You know that treatment in such clinics costs fairly large amounts of money; starting at $30-40 thousand, reaching up to 100-200 thousand dollars. I say 'help', as, according to the law, the Ministry does not have to cover the entire cost, and second, unfortunately, it doesn't have enough financial resources," the official said.

Armine Sadikyan, Coordinator of Peace-building department of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor office, countered Hovhannisyan, stating that lack of funds does not relieve the Defense Ministry from the responsibility for the soldiers' lives.