It’s absurd to speak of the combat readiness of today’s Armenian army, said commander of the Shushi battalion during the Nagorno-Karabakh War and one of the founders of the Sardarapat civic movement Jirair Sefilian, speaking to journalists in Yerevan today.<\/p>\n
Speaking a day before the 20th anniversary of Armenia’s Armed Forces, Sefilian said the hopes he had pinned on the army during the years of the Nagorno-Karabakh War haven’t been justified.<\/p>\n
“The army was to have served our country’s foreign and domestic policies. Now the army has become a tool in the hands of the authorities. The example is that they immersed the army in pressuring internal unrest, which can’t be without consequences. I am against the view that the army is society’s mirror. We could’ve created an army that would’ve had only a positive impact on forming society. If heros, and not usurpers, held the high-ranking positions in the army, we would’ve had not only another army, but also a completely different society,” he said.<\/p>\n
As for recent incidents in the army and the increase in public attention toward them, Sefilian said he was against both harassment against the army and crimes in the army.<\/p>\n
“We have to differentiate the wet from the dry. There’s criticism that’s done to discredit [the army] and there’s criticism that is for improving the army,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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