VIDEO: "Ape, someone else was saying - you will be held accountable" - soldiers' live streams and the Ministry of Defense's inaction and silence

On September 14, 2021, Auroranews sent an inquiry to the Ministry of Defense regarding a similar situation: "On September 12, at 00:15, we noticed that soldier Mher Badalyan was live streaming on TikTok with a group of fellow soldiers who were on duty in the military unit. The soldiers remained live for several hours without anyone interrupting them, and no oversight was conducted during that time, with loud music occasionally being heard. The soldiers mentioned their phone numbers during the live stream, and the room from which they were broadcasting was visible.

We request answers to the following questions: Is the Ministry of Defense investigating this incident? Who are the commanders of the military unit and what is the cause of the neglected condition of the unit? Do the boys in the military unit hold a status of 'privileged personnel'? Why is the situation in the unit such that they still do not understand what the army is? What measures has the Ministry of Defense taken, and are there any punishments; if so, who are they?

Only on October 20 did we receive a response from the Ministry stating that they needed additional time to respond to our inquiry: "In response to your inquiry sent to [email protected], we inform you that further investigation is necessary to provide the information mentioned in the inquiry. Accordingly, a response will be provided within the time limits established by the legislation of the Republic of Armenia." We all remember that today is December 2, the year is coming to an end, yet we still have not been able to receive a response to our inquiry from the Ministry. It's unclear whether relevant employees of the Ministry have conducted any investigation in that military unit or not, and whether the command of the unit has explained why the live stream and the loud music from the unit did not disturb anyone.

In the meantime, we have repeatedly noticed similar live streams that have also taken place in other military units. The question arises: if our country's defense department approached our inquiry more responsibly, took relevant steps, and held the responsible parties accountable, could it have been possible to prevent the ongoing live streams from various military units and limit it to just 1-2 units and 1-2 incidents?

In this context, it is worth mentioning that in Azerbaijan, soldiers may be prohibited from sharing information on social networks. This is stated in the new draft law on the "Status of Military Servicemen" proposed by their defense department.

It should be emphasized that the Ministry of Defense not only displays inaction in this matter but also violates the law by failing to respond to the media's inquiry. It is no secret to anyone that employees of Azerbaijan's special services are well-versed in Armenian and actively monitor social media in the Armenian domain. Such live streams provide them a good opportunity to establish contact with our soldiers and extract information.