If they decide to dissolve the Defense Army, they will also dissolve Artsakh, says Artsakh MP

«Hraparak» talked to David Galstyan, a member of the Artsakh National Assembly from the ‘Justice’ faction.

- The day before yesterday, the Artsakh parliament adopted the draft budget for 2021 in the first reading. Based on the critical speeches from the opposition, it does not reflect or address the issues arising from the post-war situation. What was the justification from your governmental colleagues for bringing such a budget to the parliament?

- Of course, the presented budget cannot be called a post-war budget. Given the current situation, we have submitted 16-17 suggestions for the second reading; it is hard to say whether these suggestions will be accepted by this government. We are more inclined to doubt that they will be accepted because we proposed a 50% reduction in transportation and hospitality expenses of all ministries, and suggested the introduction of social programs which have only minimal increases in the current project. We also suggested that a mandatory subject on firearms training be introduced for students in higher education institutions. In other words, there should be a program in school and student curricula that involves periodic shooting practice.

- Should the female gender also undergo firearms training?

- Yes. In Israel, everyone is conscripted and can at least organize self-defense in the face of state challenges. We indeed have this problem, which is why we made such a proposal. We are not saying that girls should go to the border tomorrow and defend it in trenches, but it is desirable that they know how to shoot.

- So is it true that the Defense Army is going to be dissolved, is there a budget allocated for this sector or not?

- I wouldn’t want to speak publicly about the budget. As for the nomenclature, whether it will remain the Defense Army or not: it is certain that Artsakh cannot exist without its army, be it a defense army, troops, or border guards. It seems to me that we will have our own defense; what it will be called, I cannot say. If they decide to dissolve the Defense Army, there will be no population left in Artsakh. They might rebrand it, rename it, or develop new rules of engagement, but if they decide to dissolve, they will also dissolve Artsakh.

By saying ‘Defense Army’, we should not only refer to conscript soldiers; we have contract soldiers and new defensive positions that need to be protected with new approaches.

- Returning to the budget, your governmental colleagues, the president's team, did not provide justifications as to why they put forth such a budget?

- Speaking of the governmental side, it is important to understand the «United Homeland» party and «Free Homeland»-KMDA alliance. They are the governing wing and they passed the draft. Justifications can always be provided; it was said that before November 10, being in a war situation, they had a short time to prepare the budget, which was presented on December 30. It was said that, supposedly, amendments would be made along the way. However, the same social programs will be financed incorrectly. For example, gas and electricity are partially subsidized, but there are communities where gas is available, but heating is not implemented with gas. We proposed assisting people with firewood in such cases. In other words, the government has done everything haphazardly; they consider themselves the elected representatives of the people, believe they know everything, and don’t need to consult with anyone. They do not acknowledge the current realities and do not manage the situation effectively.

Read the full article in today’s edition of the newspaper.