Karen Vrtanesyan on Arming Border Villages

In recent days, representatives of the ruling party have been gathering opinions online regarding the arming of residents in border communities in order to draft legislation on the matter. Military expert Karen Vrtanesyan stated in an interview with ArmDaily.am that the idea of arming residents in border areas has been around for a long time. Moreover, in 2017, programs were implemented to enhance the self-defense potential of residents in some communities located in dangerous zones, carried out quietly and without unnecessary publicity.

“During the 44-day war, it was natural for spontaneous self-defense groups or units to form in communities located in threatened directions, some of which continued to perform combat duty even after the war. Unfortunately, the current authorities forced these individuals to surrender heights in places like Syunik, with an 'understanding' with the Azerbaijani side, as Nikol Pashinyan later personally admitted. The current authorities surrendered heights and strategic roads, allowing the enemy to approach the outskirts of Kapan, cross an unprotected border, and establish positions in the territories of Syunik and Gegharkunik. Furthermore, for narrow partisan interests, many of those self-defense units were disarmed, while some self-defense leaders are now under criminal prosecution seemingly for political motives.

After all this, any talk from the authorities about legislation to arm border villages can be viewed merely as self-promotion, an attempt to throw yet another propaganda chew toy into the media sphere,” Vrtanesyan emphasized.

Vrtanesyan highlighted that there are legal mechanisms to arm these individuals and establish self-defense structures along the border, and that new laws are not necessary. “Bringing this issue to the National Assembly and making it a subject of discussion, in my opinion, is simply another propaganda campaign by the authorities.”