Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh criticize law on payments to wounded soldiers

Starting from January 1, the fund for payments to families of deceased soldiers and officers and soldiers who became disabled as a result of wounds began to be replenished due to the monthly mandatory deductions from a salary of each working resident of Nagorno-Karabakh in the amount of 1000 drams (about 2.1 US dollars). This was stated by Ashot Gulyan, Speaker of the Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament.

"1000 drams is the minimum amount, and if someone wants to transfer a larger amount to the fund, he or she can do that in the form of a voluntary donation," said Ashot Gulyan as quoted by an official from the press service for the Nagorno-Karabakh Parliament.

Grigory Martirosyan, Minister of Finance for Nagorno-Karabakh, has explained that the law will be applied to all employees of the public and private sectors.

"The exception will be made for workers who receive a minimum wage, that is, 55,000 drams. For each of them, 1000 drams must be paid monthly by an employer," Grigory Martirosyan stated.

Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have stated that the country needs such a fund and they agree to pay a part of their salaries to it. Meanwhile, they have also noted that the procedure for replenishing the fund is not fair, since it does not depend on the amount of persons' income.