Creation of a Commission of Inquiry Delayed as Authorities Wish to Conceal Their Failures - Seyran Ohanyan

Authorities are evading the establishment of a commission of inquiry regarding the 44-day war, as they do not wish their shortcomings to be brought to light, said Seyran Ohanyan, the head of the "Armenia" parliamentary group and former Minister of Defense, in an interview with "Factinfo."

Back in July, the President of the National Assembly, Alen Simonyan, announced that a commission of inquiry would be established regarding the 44-day war, yet it has been nearly 5 months since that announcement, and the commission has not yet been formed.

According to Ohanyan, the delay in creating the commission is due to the authorities’ desire to avoid exposing their failures. "During the 4 months of work in parliament, we have not seen any self-critical statements; they consider their performance to be outstanding. When the commission is established, it will be part of the Defense and Security Committee, with a deputy from the opposition, and that committee will be responsible for assessing all the agencies that have played a role in the country’s transition from peace to war. The National Assembly and the Defense Committee must also be evaluated, and taking all this into account, they are trying to delay the process," Ohanyan stated.

Meanwhile, as the idea of creating a commission of inquiry is discussed, former Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh, Samvel Babayan, made a notable statement, suggesting that attempts are being made within the armed forces to edit and falsify orders from the wartime period. Responding to these claims, Seyran Ohanyan noted that although he doesn’t have information regarding order falsifications, he expects anything from the current government. "I have not spoken about this; thank God, but at the same time, I can say that anything can be expected from these authorities, but law enforcement agencies should deal with such statements," Ohanyan asserted.

The former Minister of Defense emphasized that he is opposed to the public discussion of all issues related to military operations that involve specific details about combat zones, weapons, and military equipment. "Once again, I urge all my combat and service associates not to engage in such public discussions; if there is such information, it should be discussed with the relevant bodies—at the Ministry of Defense and other institutions. An inter-agency commission should have been established this year to assess what happened and identify general shortcomings, but I do not have information about specific military operations regarding document falsifications," Ohanyan stated.

Government representatives are very keen to include representatives from extraparliamentary parties in the commission, according to Ohanyan, who believes this aims to divert public attention from all the shortcomings that need to be addressed. The authorities blame the opposition for the delay in the creation of the commission, arguing that opposition MPs have not submitted the necessary confidentiality documents. The opposition's leader, Seyran Ohanyan, insisted that this is not the reason, as any person becoming a member of parliament in a country with parliamentary oversight should automatically have all such permissions. "That should be automatic. A significant number of our MPs, including myself, the first to submit the relevant documents, have been denied access to classified materials. Can you imagine—the main materials from the April war, which the Ministry of Defense provided, include my analysis from the time I was Minister of Defense, yet now I am not even allowed to see the findings of the commission regarding the April war analysis. This is absurd; they claim there are criminal cases opened against me, and that is why I am not allowed access," Ohanyan asserted.