"Homeowners Generally Are Reluctant to Sign Contracts with Servicemen" – Tovmasyan Presents New Proposal to Address the Issue

The parliament member of the "I Have Honor" faction and the head of the Permanent Commission on Human Rights Protection and Public Affairs, Taguhi Tovmasyan, has proposed a legislative initiative to amend the law on "Military Service and the Status of Servicemen." The draft law was presented today at the session led by her commission.

"The preliminary version suggests that the law's provision be amended as follows: contract servicemen in need of housing improvement at their service location shall be provided with official housing in accordance with the procedure established by the head of the authorized state body. In case official housing is not provided at the service location, a contract serviceman will be compensated for living in another residential area according to the procedure and amount set by the Government," said Taguhi Tovmasyan.

Elaborating on the motives behind presenting such a legislative initiative, Tovmasyan stated that they have received numerous reports indicating that servicemen are utilizing the rights and privileges granted to them by the government for compensation. However, due to existing issues in the system, they sometimes feel compelled to violate the law. As a result, they face criminal prosecution, and currently, 81 citizens are involved as defendants in various criminal cases.

"In many cases, in the areas where servicemen reside, homeowners are unwilling to sign contracts with them. In such instances, servicemen are forced to enter into rental agreements at other addresses but are actually living in different locations. Law enforcement has determined that this constitutes a violation of the law, leading to criminal cases, and in some instances, we even have judicial outcomes, which I find unacceptable," added Tovmasyan.

Simultaneously, she emphasized that this draft foresees that contract servicemen will no longer be required to present a rental agreement.

"I urge you to work together to ensure that servicemen do not have to break the law. We also need to understand what will happen to the 81 citizens, and I have information that the investigation into 39 of them has concluded and been resolved through an individual approach," the parliament member stressed.