Blogger Aghajanyan: Armenian army mired in alcohol, drugs and gambling

Blogger Vahe Aghajanyan has criticized the armed forces saying that the Armenian army is mired in alcohol, drugs and gambling.

"A soldier dreams of the day of demobilization from the first day of service. Nobody, including the Prime Minister of Armenia, who has not served in the armed forces, does not know what the army is, has no idea about the mental state of a soldier, cannot imagine how a soldier feels on the day of his demobilization, so the accusations against the dead soldier and his relatives are an indicator of the lack of morale and lack of even the slightest sense of responsibility for the soldier's life,” Aghajanyan wrote on his Facebook page, commenting on the death of an Armenian soldier in a snowstorm a day before his demobilization, Caliber.Az reports.

"And the fact that this military unit and this army corps are steeped in alcohol, drugs, gambling and permissiveness has long been known to both the leadership of the army and the general public, so the public, human rights activists, journalists, and people concerned about the situation in the army should raise the question why the long-standing corrosive phenomena in this military unit and corps are not only not eliminated, but also deepened.

In this context, I consider it an absolute necessity that at least the commanders of this military unit and corps be removed immediately and that measures be taken to establish strict discipline.

I also continue to insist that I do not consider it possible for the normal functioning of the armed forces and the establishment of discipline in the army during the tenure of these authorities, this defence minister, this chief of the General Staff and this chief of the Military Police," the blogger wrote.