In all our morgues we have preserved remains, corpses, some of which have been identified, and we are waiting for the parents to take the corpses and bury them as is the order. Acting Minister of Health of Armenia, Anahit Avanesyan, stated this in a TV interview on Wednesday, in connection with the bodies and remains of the soldiers who have fallen in the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) war last fall.
"There are also parents who for some reason refuse to undergo DNA testing so that we have a complete database. We and the relevant authorities are constantly working to ensure that relatives come and take [DNA] tests so that we can finally have the DNA database of all the missing [soldiers] and be able to identify them. We also have 50 deeply damaged remains which could not be identified even after several examinations," he said.
To the question why the bodies were in a disrespectful state and, against the moral values, were filled in the rooms, Avanesyan said that they were not kept in proper condition at that particular place. "Parents [of the missing soldiers] have always visited forensic medical branches; the doors of those centers have always been open to parents. Yes, this was a separate, very bad situation which deserves the strictest assessment, but it is not right to generalize and spread one separate mistake throughout the entire system," she added.
The acting health minister noted that there was a transfer process, during which we had what we had as a result of the negligence of that branch. "An investigation will be carried out, and all the steps will be taken within the framework of the law," Avanesyan said.
As to why the bodies were in such bags, she emphasized: "There is a strict procedure on how the corpses brought after the war are packed. These are special purpose bags that have been constantly renewed together with the Red Cross, and no other bag has ever been used. The bags in the photos are for keeping corpses. What [else] should they be kept in?
To the question, at what temperature were the bodies in the photos kept, Avanesyan stated that the investigation will find out and a legal assessment will be given.
And asked whether she guarantees that the bodies and remains of the already buried servicemen were in the center of proper attention, Anahit Avanesyan noted that this whole process was done in conditions of strict daily oversight.