In these days, social networks and the media discusses the reasons of downing of the Armenian Mi-24 helicopter in Karabakh and Azerbaijani contact line by Azerbaijani armed forces, those guilty are in search. There are many talks that the officer responsible for the military exercises should not have allowed this incident from happening, he is the direct responsible for the occurrence.
With this regard, in the conversation with Aravot.am, Deputy Director of the Institute of Literature, also YVU member Vardan Devrikyan, said, “Regardless of the situation, if there is a human loss or a loss of equipment, in any case, the armed forces of given country bear the responsibility. But, to specifically associate it with the exercise would not be so fair because when people say mean, Azerbaijanis were really mean. This was an expression of brutal policy, because there is an unwritten law that we do keep, so do they. They also conduct exercises, but we are never initiating an attack. Eventually, it does not turn into active combat operations. It does not even turn into a regional bombing. Of course, this would be a reason, maybe our ministry should have thought that we deal not only with cruel, but mean and inhuman rival, who once again demonstrated to be so. With the same international laws and internal contact matters, we could not expect that they would drop the helicopter down. If we follow by the logic, we can say that the military exercises are conducted in the open artillery area. At any moment, Azerbaijan can have an artillery attack on Stepanakert. The exercise were in the area under our control, in the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, but with the same logic, if Azerbaijan had an artillery attack over the soldiers conducting military exercises, we would have said that it is our fault again. We need to understand that they infringed. They did an absurd and one-sided infringement. We have not entered into the contact lines, in such actions, which would instigate them to down helicopter. During the military exercise, when your infantry is deployed across the open area, you can never attack over the opposite position, because you’re in front of him and the losses would be much greater.”
Vardan Devrikyan said that the whole world knows that during the exercise, the greatest hostile countries should respond to one another. “Attacks during the exercise is not admitted. It is something like a parade. I am surprised that one-sided judges are acting here and discussing the case. The matter should be looked at from another dimension, that after this incident, to what extent our anti-air defense should be optimal, what should be done for our helicopters not to appear in the fire zone. When these issues are considered, it contains a common sense, but constantly looking for a guilt in the occurrence is not right. Healthy criticism is fine, but it should not be turned into a morbid mania and a mean to justify the opposite side. When a soldier is killed during a military patrol, the investigation should determine to what extent the command was inattentive that the soldier had stuck his head out and appeared in the open fire zone. However, the exercises are of a different quality. To say that security should be ensured is not true. Either there should not be military exercises at all, or we need to understand that it was just a hostile act by them. And as to what would be the response, it’s a different matter.”
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
