November 15, 2011 - 13:03 AMT
Seyran Ohanyan: only military professionals have right to criticize army

With fall conscription already started in Armenia, cases of corruption continue to occur despite the massive preliminary work, RA Defense Minister said.

Seyran Ohanyan noted that the operating monitoring commission serves not only the purpose of securing transparency and legitimacy of the conscription, but also addressing public complaints and problems by telephone: 52-34-86.

When asked about the tragic cases in the army due to careless handling of weapons, Defense Minister said that violations of safety rules are recorded in any army.

Dwelling on flagrant criticism by non-governmental organizations, Mr. Ohanyan noted that although Defense Ministry stands ready for a public dialogue, “only military have the right to criticize the army.”