In Armenia, youth initiative "Let's not be silent" calls for resignation of Chief of Staff of Armed Forces

In Armenia, the youth initiative named "Let's not be silent" accuses the Chief of Staff Colonel-General Yuri Khachaturov of his inability to prevent crimes in the army and demands his resignation.

"Khachaturov's resignation should be the start of the cadre changes in the general corps of the Armenian Army. The more the process is delayed, the longer our soldiers will be at risk," the statement of the youth initiative runs.

Earlier, Mr Khachaturov said that he was concerned about the situation in the Armenian Army and intended to take the necessary steps to address the many problems.

The statement the initiative "Let's not be silent" notes that the Chief of Staff's statements and interviews are not able to reverse the situation.

According to Andranik Kocharyan, the former Deputy Defence Minister, the today's situation in the army is a result of hazing, penetration of the traditions and laws of the criminal world into the army, and corruption.

"In the last five days only, the army saw three deaths. What is happening today is a catastrophe. This means that the army service has become dangerous; its fighting capacity goes down - this is a blow to the national security. The situation in the army has overlapped even the migration problem," said Aram Manukyan, the leader of the oppositional party "Armenian National Movement".