ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES ARE IN MISERABLE SITUATION

APA
March 17 2010
Azerbaijan

Desertion, murder, rape, aggression, infringement, homosexuality,
hazing, bribery, corruption, suicide and other illegalities increase
in the enemy army

Baku – APA. A miserable situation is prevailing in the army of Armenia
which faces with serious economic crisis in the South Caucasus.

According to the reports APA obtained, disciplinary,
spiritual-psychological and physical state of the military servicemen
worsened in compare with previous years. There were 1643 cases
of desertion, murder, rape, beating, bribery, corruption, suicide
attempt, suicide, infringement and other illegal actions in 2007,
1984 – in 2008 and 2240 – in 2009.

370 out of 2240 cases were accidental, 652 – violation of regulations
among the military servicemen and 1218 – criminal.

The accidental cases in the Armenian armed forces reduced in compare
with 2008, but criminal cases increased.

Armenian armed forces faced with numerous losses in 2009. 78 servicemen
of Armenian army were killed. 21 of them were killed in the battles
(shooting, mine action, special operations) and 57 others were killed
during the different incidents. 78 servicemen of Armenian armed forces
were wounded during the battles.

57 Armenian soldiers were killed in unmilitary incidents in 2009. Six
soldiers died as a result of diseases, 4 – electric shock, 10 – road
accidents, 6 – construction accidents and 31 others were killed as
a result of suicide, beating, different accidents and illegalities.

Unmilitary losses increased by 12 in compare with 2008.

The suicide attempts and suicides also increased in 2009. There were 46
such cases last year. 13 soldiers were killed as a result of suicide.

Compared with the reporting period, the deaths reduced by 2 facts. But
compared with the developments of 2008, the attempts to commit suicide
increased by 25. The investigations found out that the attempts to
commit suicide were connected with the arbitrariness of high-ranking
officers, bribery, behavior contradicting regulations and hazing in
the military. It was found out that attempts to commit suicide in
the Armenian Armed Forces were mainly connected with the insulting
of soldiers by officers, ensigns, raping of soldiers by officers and
ensigns, sergeants, making parents of soldiers bring money, sex of
officers and ensigns with the parents of the soldiers, revelation of
the fact of raping by personnel, hard military service, psychological
problems in the Armenian Army.

A number of facts of death and injury as a result of violation of
weapon usage rules were recorded in the Armenian army in 2009. 193
such facts were recorded in 2009. In 2008 this figure was 46. 11
soldiers died, 182 were wounded as a result of the abovementioned
cases. Compared with the reporting period the number of deaths as
a result of violation of weapon usage rules reduced by 3, but the
number of the wounded increased by 49.

57 soldiers deserted in Armenia in 2009, this is 14 facts more
compared with 2008. 12 of them took their weapons with them while
deserting. Other deserters fled to Georgia, Russia and Turkey.

There still cases in the Armenian army when commanders illegally give
permission to the soldiers to leave the military unit for money. 78
such facts were recorded in 2009. Soldiers are allowed to stay at
home for a month under the pretext of hospital, detached duty after
paying $500-1000 depending on place of the military unit.

Criminogenic situation reached its peak. 138 criminogenic incidents
were recorded in the Armenian armed forces in 2009, this is 24 facts
more compared with the previous year.

18 facts of knifing were recoded in the Armenian armed forces in 2009.

7 of them resulted in death, 11 injuries.

Soldiers of the Armenian armed forces have committed several crimes
against civilians in 2009. That is criminal case on 12 soldiers in
kidnapping personal property of civilians, violence towards people,
aggression and other cases.

Besides indiscipline and arbitrariness, immorality problem also quickly
spread through Armenian army. That is, the number of soldiers involved
in homosexualism has increased in comparison with 2008. There are
200-250 such people, 12 of them are officers. Though such officers and
soldiers have been demobilized from army according to the instructions
of Armenian armed forces’ leadership, those whose health is normal
are sent to other military units under appropriate reference of
doctor’s committee.

Soldiers undertake inclination to homosexualism intentionally to
release from military service because of worse welfare standards at
military units. Formerly, such soldiers have been demobilized from
army immediately, but since last year appropriate decision has been
passed on those persons after doctor committee’s opinion.

It must be noted that drug addicts also spread in the Armenian army,
besides criminal and immorality cases. This number has toll to 77
in 2009. Bringing of drugs to military units and sale is realized
by sergeant staff under officers’ patronage. Drugs have been brought
especially from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. Narcotic is
being cultivated by high-level officer’s staff in the areas controlled
by military units.

Armenian community is worried about non-fight losses in the army more
than fight losses. Negative cases in the army happen because of the
"clan" policy, corruption, spending finance for buying weapons and
military equipments, as well as law material and social life conditions
of officers.

Armenian armed forces look the health of its soldiers very
indifferently. A lot of soldiers have been taken to regional and
central military hospitals with serious health problems because of the
low-calorific foods, antisanitarian conditions, devastated conditions
of the barracks. Frostbite, pneumonia, skin, different infectious
illnesses, inflammation, gastroenterostomy and other diagnoses exist
at military units under Armenian defence ministry.