Artur Sakunts: “MoD Works against the Army”

In an interview with “Aravot” the RA Minister of Defense, SeyranOhanyan, when referring to the outcry of the non-governmental organizations about the issues in the army and the demand for the army leadership to work transparently, in essence, repeated what the RA Deputy Minister of Defense had stated last week.

In particular, S. Ohanyan said that “If there are individuals who use their grants to conduct illegal actions against the army, they are unhealthy initiatives and cannot be tolerated by the leadership of the army.” The Minister also stated that “In the long run, the disapproval of a few people demanding a large amount of information from the ministry of defenseis more preferable than risking the security interestof the state,” he added: “It is difficult to understand those who have made criticizing the army a daily routine and as a means of self-affirmation to receive grant funding. It is unfortunate that those who belong to this group, although they are few, make too much noise and attempt to develop harmful attitudes among the public. It seems that they are led by ‘the worse the better’ principle. If, as an individual, I can ignore their occupations, as a person responsible for the fighting capacity of the army, I do not have the right to be indifferent towards those developments, which can jeopardize the atmosphere of mutual trust between thearmy and society.It is a matter of national security, and all those who attempt to meddle subversively with the army and society organic connection, by disseminated fabricated information, will inevitably be held liable.” 

In a conversation with “Aravot”, human rights activist, Artur Sakunts, a member of the Army in Reality and Chairman of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly-Vanadzor, responded to Seyran Ohanyan’s statement: “Unfortunately, we have to record that the official department, in the person of the minister, publicly supports Vova Gasparyan’s assessments, which are directed against the public structures demanding to uncover the shady occurrences and murders in the armed forces, and to reveal and punish the officials involved in corruption. This means that the MoD themselves work against the army, by hiding the crimes committed in the armed forces.This is unfortunate. On the other hand, the minister should give an answer on how effectively the grant projects provided within the framework of NATO-Armenia “Partnership for Peace” are utilized and whether there is ‘grant consuming’ there. It is one thing when a nonprofit organization receives a grant, and it is a different thing when state agencies, who have serious functions related to the protection of the country and the national security. We want to see where is the effectiveness of using those grants for making reforms in the army, when the murders still continue in the army and the corruption in the AF is not revealed.”

Source www.aravot.am
Naira Mamikonyan