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Soldier's death stirs Armenian society

9 December 2019 18:36 (UTC+04:00)
Soldier's death stirs Armenian society

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited a military unit in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karbakh region on November 30, where he also met with the so-called "representatives" of the illegal regime forces.

During the visit, he complained about the lack of mutual respect among the soldiers.

The next day, the Armenian media circulate information about the tragedy in one of the units located in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh.

21-year-old soldier Arthur Ajamyan was killed and 20-year-old soldier Davit Melikbekyan was wounded on December 2. The Armenian military leadership suggested an absurd version of what might have happened, alleging that first Ajamyan wounded Melikbekyan, then shot himself.

Ajamyan’s relatives and friends staged a protest in front of Armenia’s Parliament on December 4, stating the soldier had been killed, and denying the reports of suicide.

Ajamyan’s mother does not believe her son committed suicide and has demanded justice over her son’s killing.

Relatives of the deceases soldier have asked the investigators the following questions: if suicide was committed, why are there bruises on his body and his fingers are broken? Why are the authorities so convinced about the suicide when the investigation is still ongoing? Where was the commander of Ajamyan and Melikbekyan?

These questions are yet to be answered.

Meanwhile, Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Gabriel Balayan reported that he could not share the information he possessed in an ex-officio capacity. Apparently, Balayan is afraid of losing his position if he tells the truth.

Balayan also added that “if one of the soldiers had a conflict earlier, they would not have been be assigned to duty in the same combat position.”

Obviously, neither the investigators nor the military command wants to report the details of the bloody incident. Apparently, they are seeking to hide the identity of the culprit.

In the meantime, Prosperous Armenia Party MP Naira Zohrabyan admitted that every year, hazing in the army causes many more deaths than the bullets fired from Azerbaijan.

“Nine to ten suicides are committed in Armenia every year. The punishment for inciting to suicide amounts to only three-years-imprisonment.” she stressed.

This case once again confirms that the post-revolutionary Armenian authorities have failed to improve the psychological climate in the country's army. Negative phenomena left over from the previous leaders of the country continue to remain in the armed forces of Armenia, especially in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

So far, nothing has been reported on the current health and condition of Melikbekyan.

No doubt, the bloody incident between soldiers Ajamyan and Melikbekyan was the logical conclusion of the dire situation in the Armenian army, which is overshadowed by corruption, hazing, arbitrariness on the part of officers, in which soldiers do not serve but survive.

The incident with the soldiers is just another reason why so many young Armenians dodge the military service and chose emigrating to other countries.

Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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