Caucasus Reporting Service
Armenian Pupils March to New Step
Pilot scheme criticised for turning schoolchildren into future soldiers.
By Gegham Vardanian in Yerevan (CRS No. 349, 20-July-06)
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Children at School No. 99 in Yerevan undergoing military drill as
part of their education. Photographs by Gegham Vardanian.
"Right turn! Left shoulder forward! Quick march!" shouts military
training instructor Karo Ambardzumian, although his subordinates
are not soldiers but 11- and 12-year-old children at a school in the
Armenian capital Yerevan.
Although military training is compulsory for pupils aged 16 to
18 in Armenia, only School No. 99 has introduced it for younger
children. Groups involved in children’s rights are worried about the
effect an early dose of militarism will have on young minds, not least
because the 11 other schools where the government now plans to roll out
a similar pilot scheme cater for children from vulnerable backgrounds.
Headmistress Ludmila Margarian originally introduced the weekly
military classes as a way of bringing a group of unruly boys to heel.
"There were many boys in this class. We thought they lacked discipline
and decided to make it a class with a military bias," she said. "When
they’re in uniform, they are more organised and have a greater sense
of responsibility."
The 18 boys and eight girls in the class have learnt how to march,
stand in formation and dismantle Kalashnikov assault rifles, and are
now learning combat skills.
"We are studying military science," said Sarkis, 11. "We learn how
to crawl round enemies and kill them."
Sarkis’s grandmother Susanna Martirossian said parents had heartily
welcomed the scheme. "My grandson is delighted," she said. "He knows
that he’s going to be a general, that he’s a military man. We are
happy too, because he’s learning what a soldier’s responsibilities are,
he feels like a soldier and wants to pursue an army career."
Hranush, wearing her uniform and with her hair tucked under a
camouflage cap, said, "The boys come to school in uniform, and so do
we. It isn’t bad.
We are learning how to help our homeland when the need arises."
Another girl, Aelita, added, "We’ve learnt how to handle a machine-gun,
and studied some aspects of military strategy, tactics, and ways of
surrounding and defeating an enemy.
"I’d say the girls are treated more leniently than the boys, and they
get good marks more easily."
The school’s military instructor Karo Ambardzumian, a former
paratrooper and Soviet frontier guard, says it is best to start as
young as possible, "It’s difficult to train grown-ups. A child is like
unbaked dough, and you should teach them things from a very early age."
"I always dreamed of creating such a class," said Ambardzumian. "As
the saying goes, if you want peace, prepare for war. I try to explain
to them who will defend our motherland from, and how. Children learn
all these things when they dismantle or assemble a gun."
School No. 99 is located in a poor area on the outskirts of Yerevan,
serving a community in which many pupils come from one-parent families.
Mikael Danielian, who chairs the Helsinki Association human rights
group, is disappointed if not surprised by the trend, given that
Armenia sees itself as being on a war footing since the dispute with
Azerbaijan over Nagorny Karabakh remains unresolved.
"If children and their parents see no reason to complain and they’re
prepared to accept the rules of the game, then there’s no big violation
of rights," he said. "But it’s bad that the country is being built
by soldiers.
This is a country where young people are soldiers; such a thing was
only possible in the Soviet Union or in an Islamic country."
The education ministry seems pleased with the programme at School
No. 99, and plans to expand the scheme by making military training
a core curriculum item in 11 schools across Armenia.
The ministry has selected "special schools" – whose pupils mostly
come from difficult backgrounds – to take part in the project.
"Our basic aim is to gather children from the streets who for one
reason or another don’t attend school regularly, and who want to
enter military college but have never had the chance, and enable
them to study military matters in depth," said Vachagan Aslanian, a
specialist on military training at the National Institute of Education.
"In future, all classes [at the 11 schools] will take intensive
military training courses," said Aslanian. "Each school will cater
for one district.
Pupils from elsewhere who want to get intensive military training
will be allowed to transfer to these schools."
Aslanian said parental permission would always be sought before
putting children into military training.
Critics of the military classes remain unhappy about the scheme
despite such assurances.
"I can see what’s going on," said Danielian. "These are difficult
children who spend a lot of time on the street, and they are being
turned into military types. This is an old Soviet-era method."
Emil Saakian, public relations coordinator for UNICEF in Armenia, went
further, pointing out, "Article Four of the Armenian children’s rights
law is being violated, which says children have equal rights. Children
who for some reason end up at special schools are being pressured to
follow a military path. A child’s right to choose his own future is
being abused."
Saakian went on, "Children’s. future is being determined by someone
else.. I understand the country needs good soldiers, but it also
needs good scientists, doctors and other specialists. Who says that
soldiers alone are needed to keep the country safe, and that other
professionals don’t contribute to defending the country?"
Meanwhile, the schoolchildren have found an immediate and practical
application for their new battlefield skills.
"The military training lessons help us when we have fights with other
classes," explained schoolboy Varazdat. "We even have scraps with
older pupils, and we can help out our own guys."
Gegham Vardanian is a journalist with Internews in Yerevan, Armenia.