Why Were Children Taken There Under False Pretenses Two Days After Hadrut was Surrendered: Tovmasyan

Independent MP Taguhi Tovmasyan addressed parents of fallen and missing servicemen who sought information regarding the ongoing investigations into their sons' cases. In a conversation with reporters, Tovmasyan stated that the parents have serious doubts about the lack of progress in the criminal investigations and want the National Security Service (NSS) to take over the cases.

“There are soldiers who should not have been sent to the front at all. A soldier who had been in service for just one month was taken to the front lines. There was also a young man who had undergone surgery and was sent to the front just two days post-operation. This means that events occurred that raise criminal or legal suspicions, and these must be investigated swiftly, and answers to these questions must be provided,” Tovmasyan noted, adding that four months have passed since the war, yet this wound remains open and continues to inflame these parents' pain.

Tovmasyan emphasized that if the families demand that the NSS investigate, then the NSS should conduct the investigation, as they have given the most precious thing – their children. Additionally, the parents are insisting that there be a specific investigation regarding the commanders, as these commanders have given various interviews claiming they had issues with air defense and had transported soldiers in small vehicles to avoid endangering them. However, according to Tovmasyan, parents report that their children were loaded onto trucks and directed to specific fronts.

“Now, if they were concerned that UAVs would strike, how could they transport soldiers in trucks, knowing full well that 50-60 people make a larger target and are more easily hit than 3-4 people in smaller vehicles?” Tovmasyan said, adding that the case needs to be clarified; we cannot keep bringing these people back and forth forever. “76 people have died, and we need to understand under what circumstances and due to whose actions. Ultimately, if we handed over Hadrut, why were these children taken two days after its surrender, where were they taken, and by whose orders? This investigation needs to provide answers to these questions, and these parents have legitimate grievances. Furthermore, they claim they were deceived, being told they were being taken to a safe place, which is, in fact, the surrendered Hadrut,” emphasized Tovmasyan. She added that parents are stating that the order from Jalal Harutyunyan was revoked, indicating where and when to transport the troops. According to Tovmasyan, this order must be scrutinized and examined for why it was issued to continue operations in a location we had surrendered. “If we were really engaged in combat, we should have fought from well-established positions, rather than sent people to an area where people have been slaughtered,” Tovmasyan stated.