Incidents of Deaths within the Armed Forces Due to Internal Reasons Undermine the Army: MP

MP Arman Babajanyan posted on his Facebook page: “Today around 11:30, in a military unit located in the southeastern direction of the Defense Army of Artsakh (DAA), a serviceman, Tigran Manukyan born in 2000, and Tigran Mkoyan born in 2000, received fatal gunshot wounds under still unclear circumstances. Almost at the same time, around 13:00, another serviceman, Tigran Mkoyan, also born in 2000, received fatal gunshot wounds in another military unit's protection area located in the southern direction of the DAA under unknown circumstances.

I deeply sympathize with the families and colleagues of the fallen servicemen and share their grief. At the same time, I cannot help but note that such incidents in the armed forces have long ceased to be exceptions and have turned into a pattern. This year alone, more than ten young servicemen have died or committed suicide under unexplained circumstances. This is a real disaster for our armed forces, the state, and society as a whole. The cases of deaths occurring due to internal reasons in the armed forces of a country that is ostensibly in a ceasefire regime are undermining and demoralizing the army from within, causing irreparable damage to its combat readiness.

This trend must be stopped; it must be halted as soon as possible because it poses a serious threat to our national security and defense capability. As a member of the National Assembly, I am preparing to propose legislative initiatives to strengthen penalties for cases of inducing suicide in the army. At the same time, I believe that a working group should be created in the National Assembly to investigate and examine the recent fatalities that have crossed the threshold of permissibility, discussing the causes of the deaths recorded in cooperation with the leadership of the armed forces and aiming to prevent similar cases in the future. I have submitted a corresponding proposal for the creation of a working group to Andranik Kocharyan, the chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Defense and Security.”