Yesterday by 10 p.m. at its closed sitting the Armenian Parliament passed a decision to send Armenian military specialists to Iraq. 91 deputies voted for it, 23 - against it, while one abstained. Justice opposition faction and Dashnaktsutyun party, forming part of the ruling coalition, voted against. The rest of the factions, including the oppositionist National Unity, voted for Armenia joining the Memorandum concluded between Poland and 19 other countries, including Armenia. Thus, 46 Armenian specialists, including one common commander, one signal officer at the staff of the Polish division in Iraq, a platoon commander, three physicians (a cardiologist, a general practitioner and a psychiatrist), 10 sappers and 30 drivers will leave for Iraq. A salary of 600 thousand Armenian drams will be paid to them from the state budget of Armenia, while the US Government will cover the rest of the costs.
At the same time, a survey held by Vox Populi center for public opinion research shows that only 6% of Armenian citizens, who took part in the study, have a positive attitude towards sending Armenian specialists to Iraq. Meanwhile 24% of the respondents do not have an opinion on the matter and 60% hold a negative posture on the decision in question. Nevertheless, in the words of the Armenian Defense Minister, the Armenian contingent may be sent to Iraq already in January. All the specialists leaving for Iraq are volunteers. The main doubts in the society over the decision in question concern apprehensions regarding the security of Armenian Diaspora in Arab countries, who can become targets of attacks by Islamic radicals.