On the Order to Not Shoot: Tigran Abrahamyan

Not only during combat duty but even in peacetime, those serving in areas under the Ministry of Defense's protection in the center of Yerevan know how to act in different situations; these actions stem from relevant regulations. However, since the well-known events of 2018, the authorities, who have started friendship with the Turks, believe that there are no laws, regulations, or constitution. This was stated by Tigran Abrahamyan, a member of the Armenian parliament from the "I Have Honor" faction, on his Facebook page.

“Regarding the order to NOT SHOOT, we first encountered it after the meeting between Pashinyan and Aliyev in Dushanbe in 2018, when Aliyev was declared polite and constructive, and an order was given to NOT SHOOT. This was followed by unfounded optimistic messages, a campaign propagating unprecedented calm at the border, while Azerbaijan, using this unique opportunity, began extensive operations in the sections of the contact line where it was simply impossible to work under other circumstances. As a result, it significantly improved its ability to launch offensive operations, which, by the way, was utilized during the 44-day war in 2020.

The second major milestone under the NOT SHOOT order occurred on May 12, 2021, while Azerbaijani troops were freely entering various areas of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Gegharkunik. The ruling force, along with certain officials in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, urgently informed that there had been no gunfire or exchanges of fire. In other words, even in areas where positions had been deployed, there was no fire directed at the approaching enemy.

In the following weeks, various videos made it clear that hand-to-hand combat was taking place at the border under the conditions of the order to not shoot. Information flowing from different channels confirmed that there was an order to NOT SHOOT. If there was no such order, just imagine the scale of criminal cases that would have been initiated.

After that, Arshak Karapetyan was appointed as the Minister of Defense, whose first statements included an immediate order to open fire and eliminate any Azerbaijani soldiers attempting to cross the Armenian border. The question arose: was there a different order in effect until then? It turns out, yes.

PS. Not only during combat duty but even in peacetime, those serving in areas under the Ministry of Defense's protection in the center of Yerevan know how to act in different situations; these actions stem from relevant regulations, but since the well-known events of 2018, the authorities, who have begun friendship with the Turks, believe that there are no laws, regulations, or constitution. There is one principle: to sacrifice everything to save their own power,” wrote Abrahamyan.