Armenian Parliament Unwilling to Form Ad Hoc Committee on Non-Combat Army Deaths, Mother Says

The National Assembly of Armenia does not have the intention of forming an ad hoc committee to ensure transparency and effectiveness in the investigation of criminal cases into non-combat army deaths. Gohar Sargsyan, mother of Tigran Ohanjanyan who died in the Armenian army in 2007, has come to this conclusion after speaking to NA lawyer Zhora Vardanyan.

The parents of soldiers who died in the Armenian army in non-combat conditions held a protest action on Thursday, September 24, in front of the residence of the Armenian president, claiming they were not going to give up the idea of establishing a committee.

In an interview with an Epress.am reporter, Sargsyan recounted the details of her conversation with Vardanyan: the lawyer, as stated by the woman, said NA speaker Galust Sahakyan had instructed him to become familiar with the criminal cases and to understand whether there are contradictions in them.

“I told him I was not a lawyer but still I knew he was not entitled to give legal assessment. Also, I said I understood that a parliamentary committee would not be authorized to give legal assessment to the criminal cases either. They could, however, submit a conclusion and raise issues that would be given solution to by relevant authorities. He answered 'You know we're currently in a stage of constitutional reforms, and an investigative group will be established [under the new Constitution]’. I said we didn’t need any more investigators. It’s because of them we’ve been on the streets [protesting] for years. His words gave me the impression that they did not want to form a committee; they only wanted to become familiar with the criminal cases, send some notes and instructions to the investigative bodies to resolve the issues. I asked [Zhora Vardanyan] whether he guaranteed [the criminal cases] would be solved. He said 'How can I guarantee such a thing?' If not, why then don't they want to form an ad hoc committee?” the mother said.

According to Sargsyan, the lawyer also asked whether the European Court of Human Rights was involved in the investigation into the soldiers' deaths, to which the woman answered that 3 of the 5 protesting parents have already filed an application with the ECHR, and the rest planned to follow suit: “I asked why they wanted a slap in the face from Europe. I'm an Armenian citizen and I want Armenia to investigate the cases. I see, however, that there is no legal system here. The Constitution has been useless for so many years, and now you tell me to wait and see what happens after the constitutional reforms!”

The woman stressed that four years ago “we swayed off the right path” because of the authorities. In 2011 the parents met with parliamentary factions, pointed to the contradictions in the criminal cases, but a committee has not been created, and there has been no progress in the cases to date.

“Immediately after the verdict, my son's case was sent to re-investigation. I've been calling them for years, asking if there's any progress; however, I'm told they'll inform me when the preliminary investigation is completed. The everlasting preliminary investigation.”