0 8000 12 11

On January 17, 2013, RA Military Prosecutor G. Kostanyan presented a brief overview on the state of criminality in the RA Armed Forces in 2012 during the press conference by stating that a drastic decline of cases with death outcomes has been recorded, totally, 29 cases, 9 out of which have been initiated by the enemy.

In compliance with the assessment of the Military Prosecutor, they will continue “taking persistent measures in order to make the struggle against criminality in the Armed Forces more efficient and carry out equivalent punitive policy”.

In an attempt to create an impression that the rate of military crimes has dropped, once again percent indexes are being used. By such logic, the “five-year plan” may be soon over-executed and there will be no longer any criminal cases in the Armed Forces to be revealed.

HCA-Vanadzor is recording that:

The mortality rates in Armed Forces during 2012 has not dropped as compared with 2011, unfortunately, they have increased/48 in 2012 and 39 in 2011/. The cases with death outcomes haven’t decreased either, /39 in 2012 and 36 in 2011/. In accordance with our study results, the number of death cases, which occurred as a result of violation of ceasefire, is 12 instead of 9.

Through a digital stunt an attempt is made to once again record the amelioration of the so-called “efficient” implementation of duties by the Military Prosecutor’s   Office and the betterment of situation in the RA Armed Forces. Actually, as a result of violation of statutory relations and inadequate investigation of death cases, the state of human rights in the RA Armed Forces is extremely troubling.

We disapprove of the inadequate approach and insufficient estimates of the RA Military Prosecutor’s Office in a given situation, and we raise “red flags” that the situation is even more serious than an effort is made to show.

At the same time we find that the RA Supreme Commander-in-chief, the Defense Minister and law-enforcement bodies must seriously treat each case of human rights violation and make radical changes in dispelling the public concerns and dissipating the “red flags” raised by the NGOs and Mass Media over those violations.

Afresh, we consider that the RA Minister of Defense, in compliance with the principle of democratic oversight over Armed Forces, must submit an annual report to the National Assembly over the situation of human rights in the Armed Forces, particularly, over the causes of death cases, violations of statutory relations, negligence, over the situation of medical service provision as well as over the actions undertaken by the RA MoD targeted at the situation change and their outcomes.

18.01.2013
HCA-Vanadzor