I have dismissed all parents in the Ministry of Defense who have children citizens of other countries. Minister of Defense

It is no secret that there is a deeply rooted bad tradition in our society, namely, each "privileged parent" does everything for themselves, for their family, goes to great lengths, sells everything, and engages in all kinds of fraud to exempt their male child from military service. This was stated by the Minister of Defense of Armenia, Suren Papikyan, during a press conference.

There was a time when this phenomenon was indicative of a certain social status; however, according to the minister, this is the “most disgraceful thing” in our society.

“Over the past year, as a result of consistent work, I have urged and, by my decision, have dismissed all parents in the Ministry of Defense who have children citizens of another country. Of course, taking into account the presumption of innocence, I cannot extend this to those with disabilities, but nonetheless, the worm of doubt continues to gnaw at me from within, urging me to be cautious with them as well. This is for the knowledge of our beloved Ministry of Defense employees who have children who may be unhealthy not by their choice, wishing good health to all, but there is also a certain segment that I am sure has no relation to actual illness.

This is a public problem; it is not my problem, it is your problem, respected media participants and outlets. I ask you to assist us in this matter. Your attention is mainly directed elsewhere. But I urge you to consider this a national security issue and be consistent regarding it. Know that in this matter, I am your closest ally, even if it concerns the most oppositional media outlets.

You may insult me every day or slander my activities, but if you provide me with relevant information on this matter and become my allies in this issue, know that I am your partner and ally because I simply cannot tolerate such things,” he stated.

Papikyan also highlighted that there have been cases where the list of diseases has changed, resulting in a reduction in the number of people requesting exemption for specific diseases in subsequent years. “Sometimes there are instances where a disease that exempted someone from military service appears on the government decision list. Comparing it to last year, that disease decreases by 80 percent in the following year. What does this indicate? Did they all suddenly heal or recover? Of course not; this indicates that there was a loophole that we have closed as a result of retroactive work,” added Papikyan.