Unsolved problems in army cost human lives (video)
Situation of human rights in the army didn’t improve last year. Revelations on corruption cases, large violations didn’t pass certain level. “We cannot compensate those unsolved problems at the expense of human lives,” says human rights activist Arthur Sakunts. Rights of servicemen are violated starting from draft. There are many cases, when young people with several illnesses are drafted. Arthur Sakunts claims, “Concerns about drafting young people with serious health problems remain unsolved.” The biggest challenge of 2016 was April War. Many parents weren’t told under what conditions and as a result of which their sons were killed, “Veil of confidentiality on conditions under which servicemen were killed during military operations cannot have any justification,” says Mr Sakunts. The stance of newly appointed Minister of Defense is not encouraging as well. The society is waiting for answers. Human rights activist Zhanna Aleksanyan says, “Newly appointed Minister of Defense first must have spoken to the society about cases of the right to life, he must have given explanations and said that some steps were being taken.” The investigation of death cases of servicemen under peaceful conditions is not within the power of Defense Ministry, but that of Special Investigation Committee. But it doesn’t mean that it isn’t responsible for the fair course of criminal cases, “There should be a body in the Defense Ministry, which will supervise the course of investigation,” suggests human rights activist Zhanna Aleksanyan. According to the assessment of human rights activist Arthur Sakunts, the rights of servicemen are violated more than they are voiced. “As people are afraid of protesting, as they have no confidence that they won’t be persecuted.” The situation in the army can be essentially improved in case of establishment of the institution of military ombudsman. But the proposal of human rights activists remains up in the air. “We can see to what extent the current institution of ombudsman is able to be consistent with human rights’ violations, especially in the armed forces,” says Mr Sakunts. Servicemen, who have problems in the army, can seek solutions also outside the military units. Hot line 1-28 operates. On January 10, the first day of the operation of the service, 360 calls were received. Alik Avetisyan, Chief of the Center for Human Rights and Integrity Building, says that hot line is an efficient way to reveal the violations, “We have many cases, when officers have certain level of trust and think that the higher bodies had better deal with their cases. Chief of Armed Forces General Staff personally receives officers, and if there are special cases, they meet with the Minister.” During the previous elections many cases of influencing the right of servicemen to vote were registered, when the servicemen were forced to vote for this or that power. Human rights activists warn that there is a great risk that the same will happen during the upcoming parliamentary elections.
