Armenian rights defenders suggest measures to prevent suicides in the army

In order to stop soldiers' suicides in Armenia, it is necessary to force officers to bear responsibility for hazing, increase the number of women in the army and create a monitoring group to monitor the situation, the human rights defender interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" have noted.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Armenian MPs has suggested toughening penalties for bringing to suicide in the army. On December 9, the MPs deputies adopted in the first reading the relevant amendments to the Criminal Code.

The MPs have demonstrated only their concern over the problem of suicides in the army, supporting the legislative initiative, said Artak Kirakosyan, a rights defender and the head of the Civil Society Institute.

In his opinion, the suicide reasons are generally similar in the army and in jails.

"The problems are the same – the closeness, the presence of internal laws and unwritten rules. Those for whom they are unacceptable simply don't survive. Therefore, to solve the problem, first of all, we need more transparency, as well as public control," Mr Kirakosyan told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

He has suggested that one of the measures for the prevention of hazing in the army is to increase the number of women in the army. "Usually non-statutory hierarchical relations (hazing) develop in a closed male society. In the presence of women, men will behave more correctly," he said.

Zhanna Aleksanyan, a rights defender and the head of the NGO "Journalists for Human Rights", believes that the army's charter is generally good, but it doesn't work.

"It is very important to eradicate criminality from the army. The charter should work, and the officers should be responsible for inaction or the concealment of hazing," she told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 18, 2019 at 07:04 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.