Today Hrayr Karapetyan, the head of the Armenian National Assembly Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, met with journalists and presented the achievements of the Armenian military forces and the reforms being carried out. He noted, “Thanks to the Armenian army, we won the Artsakh war for existence, which was the biggest achievement in the modern history of Armenia. Today the army is the most mature institution in the sense that it can successfully fulfill its task, i.e. guarantee the security of the Armenian people.”
According to H. Karapetyan, the army is constantly developing, especially, in terms of legislation. In particular, a set of disciplinary regulations have been adopted that have gained the force of law. Important changes have been made in the Military Service and Military Obligation Law of the armed forces, the obligations of the community leaders during recruitment have been clarified, thanks to which many Armenians who left Armenia for various reasons, come back to Armenia these days, either fulfilling their duty toward their motherland, or if they are older than the recruitment age, pay respective amount of money to the special defense fund, getting a military identification card, whereas in the past they should have been prosecuted”, stated the spokesperson and added that the set of regulations was ready and would be put forward in the National Assembly in the short-run.
H. Karapetyan says that multiple drawbacks are the result of the fact that laws were not enforced in the army in a set of cases, because there weren’t any, “The army was guided not by laws, but by decisions of the Cabinet and orders of ministers, as well as traditions inherited from the Soviet period.”
Laws contribute also to securing the rights of soldiers. For example, formerly a serviceman applied to the commander, if he had a complaint, whereas, in H. Karapetyan’s words, one should direct his complaint to the high-ranking commanding officers, “It is ridiculous, if one complains to a man, against whom he complains.”
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Hrayr Karapetyan stated that the Armenian army is famous around the world, which the discipline of the Armenian armed forces in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan during antiterrorism maneuvers testifies to.
Louisa SUKIASYAN