“I ask the weak-hearted not to read”: Gegham Manukyan

Member of the National Assembly from the ‘Armenia’ faction, Gegham Manukyan, wrote: “Do you want to understand what this government means when it announces reforms and a 'transformation' of the Armed Forces of Armenia, a 'New Armenia' army? Here’s one example, concrete facts, and official correspondence: Do you remember that a year ago there were numerous alerts that ‘Glory Corners’ were being removed from military units and images of heroes and freedom fighters? The Ministry of Defense clarified that the old, worn images would be replaced with new ones.

Thus, on February 12, 2024, I wrote to the Ministry of Defense asking whether ‘formats, samples, and projects have been developed for updating, renovating, and thematically completing print materials…’ and ‘what timelines are set for fully completing the refresh and modernization processes in military units?’ Attention: already in March 2024, they responded that ‘the processes of updating print materials and thematically enhancing content are in the development phase, and we will address the aforementioned issue once completed’ and that ‘the 2024 procurement plan anticipates acquisitions to support military units.’

I patiently waited for a year and, 10 months after the Ministry of Defense's reply, asked again why their promised deadlines had expired and what they had done to restore the Glory Corners in military units.

For the weak-hearted, I ask you not to read: They responded that ‘the work of updating print materials and thematically enhancing the content of the Glory Corners is in the development phase’ and that ‘no money has yet been spent to acquire the mentioned materials. The process of supplying military units with the appropriate materials and resources will take place after the completion of the development and acquisition processes of the print materials.’

This means that in one year, they have done nothing; not a single Glory Corner has been restored. Now, what kind of reforms and consistent development could have been made in the armed forces? Or do they envision the ‘transformation’ of the military, the ‘new army of Armenia’ to be this: without heroes, under a command that repeats ‘peace’ and ‘border delimitation’ every moment, an amorphous collective?”