Demanding Serzh Sargsyan’s resignation
Several non-governmental organizations and lawyers have issued a statement in relation to the current state of the army. We present the statement in its entirety:
"On 6 September 2011, the law-defense organizations mentioned below issued a statement expressing their concern over the current state of the Armenian Army, particularly in relation to the assaults and deaths. To solve these problems, the following demands have been presented to the RA Commander-in-Chief with the expectation of active steps within a month:
-the organizing of a detailed study on the assaults against soldiers in the Armenian Army and the death cases, including murders and suicides to reveal the flaws and violations of the law on the part of bodies implementing preliminary inquiry and trials through the engagement of independent experts and representatives of interested organizations,
-the assurance of warrants to bring to justice all officials that have been directly responsible for the investigation of the criminal cases and the illegal acts,
-taking concrete measures for changing irregular relations and the unhealthy environment among the armed forces through legislative proposals and the engagement of representatives of interested organizations,
-provide primary, proper and dignified compensation for moral and material damage caused to the families of soldiers that died in peace in the army.
We have registered the following after this statement was issued:
-the standing committee on defense, national security and internal affairs of the RA National Assembly has organized two working meetings behind closed doors,
-the representatives of the RA Ministry of Defense have organized individual meetings with the families of the deceased soldiers,
-the RA Government has taken a decision on increasing the subsidy provided to the families of the deceased soldiers by 21 percent (from nearly 10,000 to 12,100 drams),
-the RA Minister of Defense has made statements regarding the need for raising the level of discipline in the armed forces,
-the soldiers responsible for the car accident that led to a death on October 3 during a camp meeting at Baghramian Training Center have been fined, and several high-ranking officers have been dismissed from their posts, some have received warnings,
-the RA Minister of Defense and the military prosecutor have reached an agreement on promoting discipline in the armed forces, reducing the crime rate, creating a task force to prevent crimes and increase responsibility. The Ombudsman will also support these actions.
Alongside this process, some representatives of the RA Ministry of Defense have tried to persuade the families of the deceased soldiers to refuse to complain about the murders in the army. On September 21, during the Independence Day celebration, law-enforcement bodies have cruelly impeded the protest organized by families of soldiers and public activists.
We find that the above mentioned steps taken by the corresponding structures in the given timeframe are not sufficient to solve the current issues facing the army, and the pressures against the families of the deceased soldiers serve as a basis for calling into question the presence of political will for solving the issues.
In addition, to this day, the RA Commander-in-Chief has not expressed any position on the current situation and the issues that we have raised. The society also doesn't know of any action that the Commander-in-Chief has taken.
Analyzing such line of conduct, we believe that the RA Commander-in-Chief Serzh Sargsyan doesn't have a clear understanding of the objective of changing the situation as soon as possible and doesn't have a sense of responsibility. There is no sense in expecting radical reforms from him and that is why we demand his immediate resignation."
The statement is signed by:
Artur Sakunts, Helsinki Civil Assembly Vanadzor Office NGO
Natalya Martirosyan, Helsinki Civil Assembly Armenia Office NGO
Zhanna Alexanyan, Journalists for Human Rights NGO
Seda Melikyan, Lawyers for Human Rights NGO
Levon Barseghyan, "Asbarez" Journalists Club NGO
Sona Ayvazyan, Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center NGO
Isabella Sargsyan, Youth for Democracy NGO
Lala Aslikyan, "Huys" NGO
