"Soldier's Mothers" of Armenia: deaths of soldiers on July 27 and 28 should be investigated

The reason of the death of Armenian soldiers on July 27 and 28 is in the fact that some people in the country's Armed Forces are not in their positions; and henceforth we should understand that the most important thing is the soldier's life. This was stated today to journalists by Greta Mirzoyan, a member of the public board at the Minister of Defence and chair of the public organization "Soldier's Mothers".

In her opinion, "the reason of tragic incidents is that certain people are not in their places." "Today I can name them. Henceforth, the army should have no ordinary people. It is necessary to understand that the most important thing is the soldier's life," said Ms Mirzoyan.

A similar viewpoint was expressed by Arthur Sakunts, chairman of the Vanadzor-based office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly. According to his story, the army fails to ensure the most important thing - soldiers' safety. He believes that the tragic incidents in the Armenian army are the implications of the merge of the high-ranking military leaders with the business, corruption phenomena in the army and the reigning atmosphere of impunity.

As stated to journalists by Seiran Oganyan, Minister of Defence of Armenia, the command of the armed forces are doing everything possible to find the reasons of the incidents that happened on July 27 and 28 and bring the culprits to responsibility.

The oppositional Armenian National Congress (ANC) disseminated a statement today with expressions of indignation and concern of the unhealthy atmosphere and customs reigning in the army.