Sardarapat Movement: army is the mirror of the society, which needs a change

PanARMENIAN.Net - The problems within the Armenian civil society are the reason behind the deadly incidents in the army, a member of Sardarapat Movement said.

“Army is the mirror of the society, however this doesn’t justify the latest developments in the armed forces,” the head of Monte Melkonyan Foundation, Alek Yenigomshyan told a press conference in Yerevan

“The problem is that corruption at the highest military level prevents from fair investigation into the incidents,” he emphasized, adding that both army and public need system reforms.

Several tragic incidents have been registered in the Armenian army over the past months.

On August 26, soldier Aghasi Abrahamyan died after being severely beaten.

“What happened to Abramanyan is not just a crime but an immoral act against a human being,” a prosecutor said. “The soldier, who felt bad was taken to an aid post 30 km far from his military unit. He stayed there unconscious for 10 hours and then was beaten by the medical officer.”

On September 5, Let’s Not Be Silent youth initiative received an alert on a terrible incident with Hovhannes Vardanyan, 20, who went mad and is now kept in a mental hospital. A video shot in the hospital shows Vardanyan, who keeps repeating the military oath and makes random movements. Asked what happened, he says: “Officers… wanted to beat and rape me.” Vardanyan doesn’t remember any names.