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ARMENIA CALLS UP RESERVISTS FOR MAJOR DRILLS IN APRIL
Haykakan Zhamanak
March 26 2010
Armenia
Armenia has called up military reservists from across the country
for 10-day drills planned for April, the opposition daily Haykakan
Zhamanak reported.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed the report but downplayed
the drills, describing them as routine. The minister of defence,
Seyran Ohanyan, said that the exercises were "a usual phenomenon",
while his spokesman Seyran Shahsuvaryan said similar drills were held
in past years. Ohanyan said he decided to pay greater attention to
mobilization exercises.
However, Haykakan Zhamanak believes that the drills to be held on
12-22 April would be different. In the past, exercises were held for
one day only and reservists did not have to wear military uniforms.
Furthermore, reservists will be paid during this call-up. Soldiers
will get about eight dollars and officers 13 dollars a day. The paper
said that the authorities must have a serious reason for holding such
costly drills.
According to the paper, experts believe that the exercises are
designed to create an impression of a war threat so that there is no
big protests if Armenia decides to give back part of the Azerbaijani
territory around Nagornyy Karabakh.
Haykakan Zhamanak
March 26 2010
Armenia
Armenia has called up military reservists from across the country
for 10-day drills planned for April, the opposition daily Haykakan
Zhamanak reported.
The Ministry of Defence has confirmed the report but downplayed
the drills, describing them as routine. The minister of defence,
Seyran Ohanyan, said that the exercises were "a usual phenomenon",
while his spokesman Seyran Shahsuvaryan said similar drills were held
in past years. Ohanyan said he decided to pay greater attention to
mobilization exercises.
However, Haykakan Zhamanak believes that the drills to be held on
12-22 April would be different. In the past, exercises were held for
one day only and reservists did not have to wear military uniforms.
Furthermore, reservists will be paid during this call-up. Soldiers
will get about eight dollars and officers 13 dollars a day. The paper
said that the authorities must have a serious reason for holding such
costly drills.
According to the paper, experts believe that the exercises are
designed to create an impression of a war threat so that there is no
big protests if Armenia decides to give back part of the Azerbaijani
territory around Nagornyy Karabakh.