Serzh Sargsyan has a month
Statement by law-defense non-governmental organizations
The Armenian army has passed a difficult road toward development throughout the development of the Republic of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and after the signing of the ceasfire regime following the Artsakh war. Nevertheless, despite some achievements, the army still functions with the model of non-regulatory criminal ties inherited from the Soviet army and conditioned by the defects of the oligarchic regime. As a result, many youth of the Republic of Armenia are assaulted, tortured and killed. In 2008-2011, there were officially 187 soldiers killed for different reasons in the army, and only 25 of tem died as a result of ceasefire violations. According to unofficial data and different experts, more than 1,500 young soldiers have died in the Armenian army since 1994.
The investigations into the criminal cases in relation to the deaths of soldiers are held with violations of the law. Most of those cases remain unrevealed for years, and the murders, as a rule, are viewed as suicides. The rights of the parents of the deceased soldiers are often ignored, and the parents are ignored by state officials.
The unhealthy moral-psychological atmosphere in the army and the impunity lead to the growth of crime rates and the lack of morale in the society. On the one hand, this situation leads to corruption since the parents of youth at the age of military recruitment try to illegally free their sons from the army or "ensure" their security, and on the other hand, it contributes to emigration.
We representatives of the below mentioned law-defense non-governmental organizations
-express our deep concern about the current state of the Armenian army and our disappointment with the authorities' irresponsible acts,
-consider inacceptable physical and psychological harm and torture against any soldier serving in peace and the policy of concealing that on the part of commanders, as well as the investigative bodies and courts,
-assess the Commander-in-Chief of the RA Armed Forces Serzh Sargsyan's lack of stance on the mentioned matter as a misunderstanding of the role of Commander-in-Chief, lack of understanding the situation, indifference and/or result of patronage.
We demand that the RA Commander-in-Chief immediately ensure
-a detailed study of the assaults against and deaths of soldiers that have served in the Armenian Army since 1994, including murders, suicides and criminal case proceedings to show the flaws allowed by the preliminary inquiry and investigative bodies and the violations of the law, as well as the inclusion of independent experts and representatives of interested non-governmental organizations,
-warrants for bringing all officials who are directly responsible for the investigation into the criminal cases and the illegal acts to justice,
-concrete measures to eliminate the irregular relations and unhealthy atmosphere in the armed forces with legislative initiatives and the inclusion of those interested,
-proper and dignified compensation for the moral and material damage that was caused to families of soldiers who died in peace.
In case of no action taken within a month, we consider RA Commander-in-Chief Serzh Sargsyan responsible for the current state of the Armenian army and demand his resignation.
Artur Sakunts, Helsinki Citizens Assembly Vanadzor Office NGO
Avetik Ishakhanyan, Helsinki Committee of Armenia NGO
Natalya Martirosyan, Helsinki Citizens Assembly Armenia Office NGO
Zhanna Alexanyan, Journalists for Human Rights NGO
Seda Meliikyan, Lawyers for Human Rights NGO
Levon Barseghyan, "Asbarez" Journalists' Club NGO
Sona Ayvazyan, Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center NGO
Izabella Sargsyan, Youth for Democracy NGO
Lala Aslikyan, "Huys" NGO
Levon Nersisyan, A. D. Sakharov Human Rights Protection Center NGO
