Concerns Raised After Military Drills, Says Gegham Manukyan

“A few months ago, there were numerous reports from citizens that after the military drills, they were saying ‘we will keep 42,000 for the form.’ The issue seemed to be resolved after the complaints were raised,” said opposition MP Gegham Manukyan during a speech in the National Assembly.

“Now, when they provide the form, they say you must keep it like ‘the apple of your eye’ for 3 years,” he added.

“The distrust, the vulnerability, being deprived of work and family for 25 days — these are the issues at hand. The problem also lies in the fact that the concept of military drills has been fundamentally distorted; under the guise of military drills, dozens of people were called up for political purposes by Andranik Kocharyan. Another issue is that more people are attending the gatherings from villages than from Yerevan. Let’s be honest, these military drills are not happening out of good circumstances, as we have combat duty issues, and let them not boast that our armed forces are filled with contract servicemen, as that is not the case.

Regarding the conditions of living, there have been reports that the situation is simply horrific. All security issues are important, but the security issue also includes blindness, boasting, and deceiving people,” Manukyan stated.

It is worth noting that a package of draft amendments to the Criminal Code of Armenia, which proposes to clarify the forms of evasion from military drills and criminal responsibility for such evasion under Article 462, is currently being discussed.