Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Not content with physically abusing the mothers of the dead soldiers, who in recent time have taken to voice their anger at the government, the Armenian police is now arresting citizens supporting the parents of the dead soldiers.

The parents of soldiers killed in non-combat conditions in the army held another protest in front of the Armenian president’s residence on June 4, Armenia’s Epress reported.

But this protest didn’t yield any results, as the Armenian leadership has once again ignored the calls and demands of the soldiers' parents.

The dead soldiers' parents attempted to approach the presidential residence’s department on reception of letters and statements to remind the ‘forgetful’ president of his promise given a few years ago that all soldiers' death will be investigated and duly reported.

Protesters have been met with a ‘wall’ of police, preventing them to come close to the building.

In addition, as if it was not enough, police detained and took to the police station engineer Vardges Gaspari and artist Ara Petrosyan, who joined the protest in support of the dead soldiers’ parents.

They, along with the mothers of servicemen killed in non-combat situations, demanded permission to pass on the sidewalk in front of the presidential residence, but law enforcement officers blocked their way.

Citizens have repeatedly tried to break the police cordon, but they were time and time again pushed away.

After a long verbal skirmish mothers bypassed law enforcement officers across the roadway. But Gaspari and Petrosyan’s row with police continued. After a few minutes, they were detained by police and taken to the Arabkir police station.

Some of the police even didn’t hesitate to swear at the protesters in front of journalists.

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

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

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

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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