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EXPERT: IMPUNITY IN THE ARMY RESULTS IN NEW CRIMES
arminfo
Tuesday, September 6, 20:07
A number of Armenian NGOs have appeared with a statement urging people
to fight the impunity and anarchy in the army.
While presenting their statement to journalists on Tuesday, Head of
the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office Artur Sakunts said
that 187 people died in the army in 2008-2011 with only 25 of them
killed on the border.
He said that in most of the cases the Defense Ministry refused to
provide details.
Head of the Journalists for Human Rights NGO Zhanna Aleksanyan said
that they have investigated the suicides registered in the army. "We
have read the messages those boys wrote before killing themselves
and have seen that the conditions in the army were so bad that they
preferred suicide to military service," Aleksanyan said.
Chairman of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia Avetik Ishkhanyan said
that impunity in the army results in new crimes. "Our army is in
crisis: our boys die under vague circumstances. So, we must set up
a group of experts for investigating those cases and revealing the
truth," Ishkhanyan said.
The NGOs note that the authorities investigate such cases only when
pushed by the mass media. So, they urge President Sargsyan to ensure
that all the cases are disclosed. "If he fails to do it within a month,
we will demand his resignation," they say.
arminfo
Tuesday, September 6, 20:07
A number of Armenian NGOs have appeared with a statement urging people
to fight the impunity and anarchy in the army.
While presenting their statement to journalists on Tuesday, Head of
the Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office Artur Sakunts said
that 187 people died in the army in 2008-2011 with only 25 of them
killed on the border.
He said that in most of the cases the Defense Ministry refused to
provide details.
Head of the Journalists for Human Rights NGO Zhanna Aleksanyan said
that they have investigated the suicides registered in the army. "We
have read the messages those boys wrote before killing themselves
and have seen that the conditions in the army were so bad that they
preferred suicide to military service," Aleksanyan said.
Chairman of the Helsinki Committee of Armenia Avetik Ishkhanyan said
that impunity in the army results in new crimes. "Our army is in
crisis: our boys die under vague circumstances. So, we must set up
a group of experts for investigating those cases and revealing the
truth," Ishkhanyan said.
The NGOs note that the authorities investigate such cases only when
pushed by the mass media. So, they urge President Sargsyan to ensure
that all the cases are disclosed. "If he fails to do it within a month,
we will demand his resignation," they say.