Armenian political elite slams govt. for chopper incident
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
The recent crash of Armenian helicopter on Azerbaijan’s soil has shed light on the deep disorder in Armenia's military structure.
Absence of well-organized military tactics in Armenian army and uncoordinated activities of the Defense Ministry have sparked harsh criticism from the political elite in Armenia.
Former presidential candidate, oppositional Heritage Party's Leader Raffi Hovanissian said the Armenian army command should be held accountable for the helicopter incident.
"There is no special reason for using the helicopter at a distance of 150 meters from Azerbaijan's frontline. This question needs a clear answer," he said.
On November 12, an Armenian helicopter, a Russian-made Mi-24 gunship, deliberately crossed into Azerbaijan's airspace over the occupied lands, making attack maneuvers against Azerbaijani positions. Azerbaijani army took the most adequate measure and shot down the chopper.
Hovanissian added that the Armenian helicopter was shot down by a Russian-made weapon. He criticized the policy of Armenia's strategic ally Russia, saying the northern giant supplies large amount of weapons to Azerbaijan.
Hovannisian went on to slam the Armenian government's preference to join the Eurasian Economic Union saying: "Armenia's integration into the EEU is wrong, since it is a part of the Western civilization."
Armenian authorities have taken concrete steps to mislead the local and international community, saying the Azerbaijani army didn't allow Armenia to establish a humanitarian corridor to the chopper's wreckage site, keeping it under regular shellfire. They also made a fake show of covert operation to evacuate the corpses of the crew members from the crash site. Armenian "commandoes" even killed two Azerbaijani soldiers during the special task. Azerbaijani side has strictly denied shooting at the wreckage site and any casualties during the operation.
The so-called special operation and killing of two Azerbaijani soldiers were the Armenian authorities' fiction to enthusiastically disguise their military failure and calm down the criticism from political elite.
OSCE Minsk Group issued a statement on the Armenian military helicopter's downing, calling the crash site a "neutral" zone. Azerbaijani officials immediately protested saying the “neutral territory” expression used by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs was unacceptable.
In reply, OSCE Minsk Group changed the name of the chopper's wreckage site from “neutral” to “no man’s” land.