"Aikakan Zhamanak": hazing brought to death of four soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh

The main culprit of the tragedy in the Army of Nagorno-Karabakh became Manvel Azroyan, who shot at seven of his colleagues; then tried to commit suicide but survived. Azroyan was hazed and bullied by his comrades-in-arms. This is reported today by the Armenian newspaper "Aikakan Zhamanak" (Armenian Time).

According to the paper, Manvel Azroyan, who had lived before recruiting in Nalbandyan village, Armavir Region of Armenia, opened fire after another round of mockeries by other soldiers.

Let us remind you that on November 19, in one of the positions controlled by a military unit of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army, a skirmish burst out, which resulted in four lost and four wounded soldiers. No official comments from the Ministry of Defence of Nagorno-Karabakh on the reasons of the incident followed.

Meanwhile, Sergey Minasyan, deputy director of the Caucasus Institute, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that openness of the Army for the press would be a deterrent mechanism for negative phenomena. "Publications in the press and rights defenders' interventions help to reduce problems and, therefore, improve the combat readiness of the Army," he said.

He was supported by human rights activist Avetik Ishkhanyan: "Keeping silent about the Army has nothing to do with patriotism."

In the context of the incident on November 19, a statement was also made by the opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC). Its activists see the main reason of the incident in substitution of statutory relations by criminal ones. "This course of events can't be stopped by punishing officers, or even the minister; moreover, the authorities have no such desire. The situation can only be saved by elimination of the root reason - power of bandits and establishment of legitimate power and constitutional order," runs the statement of the ANC.