Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Mothers of the dead soldiers in Armenia have sworn to never allow state officials to forget what their sons sacrificed to the state. They vowed not to allow officials to ignore or forget the death of their sons.

The angry mothers also condemned the Armenian police for their brutal behavior during protests demanding clarification on death of their sons in non-combat conditions in the army.

The parents of those soldiers have repeatedly protested in Yerevan demanding the rights of their children to be respected and their sacrifices honored.

Rather than honor the dead, the state has systematically prove vicious in its approach as protesters faced a brutal police crackdown every time they attempted to protest. During their last protest at the gate of the presidential palace in mid-May, Armenian police forcibly dispersed protesters, resorting to pushing and striking the angered mothers.

“How they treat our children, they treat us! Who gave such an order to the police - the president, the prosecutor? Did the police chief willfully order all of this?” the Armenian media quoted Gohar Sargsyan- one of the protesting mothers.

She explained that during the latest protest in front of the president's residence police used force against them. The police behaved in a monstrous way, according to Sargsyan.

However, the Armenian authorities did not only condemn such behavior, but they justified these actions as competent.

Sargsyan said after yesterday's events, it became clear that Armenia’s Prosecutor General Gevorg Kostanyan considers police actions to be competent - a monstrous act in itself.

“They did not say why those mothers came to the residence of the president? They came to hear an answer from the commander in chief, even if it is negative,” he said.

The authorities have banned any such type of gathering and protest before the presidential palace since last February after a similar rally embarrassed state officials to the point where they ordered police to violently break up the rally.

After that incident, parents have repeatedly tried to come close to the president's office, only to be turned away each and every time by a cordon of police.

The increasing number of soldier deaths has unavoidably triggered public concern and angered the families of the deceased conscripts.

Poor relations among soldiers and officers in the Armenian army have already turned into a driving factor behind servicemen's deaths in non-combat conditions. Officers' willful treatment of soldiers, the humiliations they continue to bare on them have often resulted in armed incidents that ultimately claim the lives of servicemen.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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