Azernews.Az

BAKU – An Armenian soldier, who is one of the servicemen that have recently crossed to the Azerbaijani territory, escaping arbitrariness in Armenia’s military, claims he is a relative of Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian.

Ohan Harutyunyan, 19, and Gevorg Tovmasyan of the same age, drifted to the Azerbaijani-controlled areas through the contact line of the two countries’ troops in Azerbaijan’s Goranboy region.

Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war with Armenia that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but the neighboring South Caucasus republic continues to occupy Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law, and OSCE-brokered peace talks have been mostly fruitless to date.

The Armenian soldiers told Azerbaijan’s APA news agency that they had to escape due to having faced violence and actions degrading their dignity in a military unit in Nagorno Karabakh.

Tovmasyan said that from the very beginning of his military service, the commanders humiliated and beat him and made him clean restrooms. He then decided to escape and shared his plans with Harutyunyan.

The Armenian servicemen said they were treated well in Azerbaijan and did not wish to return home.

"When we were crossing to the Azerbaijani side we also thought that we would be better off here than in Armenia. We were greeted in Azerbaijan as their own. We are doing fine. There are no problems with food at all. When we need something, we always get it. In Armenia though, it is impossible to live, there is poverty and there are no jobs."

Harutyunyan said that, despite his relation to Defense Minister Ohanian, he had never asked him for help when he faced abuse in the military.

"When I saw what was going on in the army, I realized that Ohanian was not a good person and that appealing to him would have been useless."

Regarding the mood in the Armenian army, Harutyunyan said that Armenians serving in Nagorno Karabakh say that if war erupts with Azerbaijan, they would escape.

"We know that these lands are not ours. Most Armenians realize that these territories do not belong to Armenia and that they need to be returned to Azerbaijan," Harutyunyan said.

Besides Tovmasyan and Harutyunyan, there are currently four Armenian servicemen in Azerbaijan. Moreover, an Armenian civilian has crossed to Azerbaijan together with his family members.