Armenian Ombudsman dissatisfied with himself
Armenian Ombudsman Karen Andreasyan says torture and killings in the army are resulted by poor discipline.
Prior to the discussion of a report by the Council of Europe's Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) Karen Andreasyan asked the presentees to observe a minute's silence to commemorate soldiers Aghasi Abrahamyan and Hayk Mkrtchyan who died in the army in non-combat conditions.
The ombudsman noted that he had also met the parents of assassinated soldiers Tigran Ohanjanyan, Andranik Hayrapetyan and Artak Nazaryan.
"We must surely respect the interests of our national security but at the same time, we must prevent similar tragedies in the army otherwise we cannot even dream about an army void of torture," said Andreasyan.
Unlike the police, the Defense Ministry cooperates with the Ombudsman's Office in an attempt to find solution to army problems.
During today's meeting, Karen Andreasyan complained of the activity of the Ombudsman's Office saying ‘neither his predecessor nor he was able to prevent torture.'
The Armenian Ombudsman says though the Ombudsman's Office is deprived of the promised funds from the state budget, their employees quickly respond to alarms and visit the scenes.
The Office is going to restore the hotline to make its activities more effective.
