ARMENIAN ARMY ABUSES GO UNCHECKED
By Gegham Vardanian, a correspondent with Internews in Yerevan.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Aug 17 2007
UK
Defence minister pledges to clean up poor practice, but conscripts
say corruption and violence are still rife.
Arsen Karapetian served in the Armenian army for just over a year
before he fell gravely ill and his parents bought him out in exchange
for a bribe.
Karapetian recalled the incident which led to his illness. "It was
early spring. Early in the morning, we were woken by an alarm call
and they marched us out of the base. There was a heavy downpour and
we were soaked to the skin within five minutes."
The soldiers returned to base and hung out their wet uniforms to dry,
but their company commander ordered them to get dressed and go for a
theory lesson. "We had to put on our wet clothes again and spend an
hour and a half in a cold hall," he said.
Karapetian and more than a dozen other soldiers subsequently contracted
pneumonia, which in his case developed into pleurisy. Some of them
were kept at the base for two weeks before being taken to hospital.
"I grew terribly thin," he said. "Fluid was pumped from my lungs every
day. I was supposed to be demobilised but they kept on postponing
it. In the end, my parents gave a bribe of 500 [US] dollars to the
'right' officers to speed up my demobilisation."
On returning to civilian life, Arsen was registered as a disabled
person.
The military has not taken any action against the officer involved
in the incident.
The often appalling treatment meted out to conscript soldiers during
their two years of military service is widely known about, but is still
off-limits as subject for public debate. According to the Armenian
Helsinki Committee, which monitors human rights in the armed forces,
"The number of crimes is not getting any less, because the culture
of permissiveness and impunity still prevails."
The head of the committee, Avetik Ishkhanian, believes there is an
unwritten law that you cannot speak out publicly about abuses in
the army.
"Soldiers are afraid of speaking the truth while they are serving,"
he said. "They avoid doing so after demobilisation too, and just try
to forget the years they spent in the army."
According to Zhanna Aleksanian, a journalist and human rights activist
who has extensively researched abuses in the military, "Bribery is
commonplace in the army. Beatings and violence meted out by officers
are not even discussed. Parents prefer to remain silent on this issue,
as they do not want to harm their sons even more."
Armenian defence minister Mikael Harutiunian insisted that the military
was tough on disciplining its commissioned officers.
"If officers are guilty and if they have committed a crime, they
are punished," he told IWPR. "Many officers have been dismissed and
prosecuted. Guilty officers are always punished."
However, according to the Armenian prosecutor general's office, of
the 46 convictions of military officers last year, only one involved
mistreatment of a soldier, and three were for taking bribes.
Many experts say that instances of abuse are often covered up.
Lawyer and member of parliament Zaruhi Postanjian said that in cases
where soldiers are injured when the officer who ought to be on duty
is absent from his post, no legal action is taken.
Before she was elected to parliament, Postanjian worked for many
years to protect the rights of young soldiers from the rough rules
of the army's unwritten code. She points to the informal system of
"unit overseers" -men who impose order among their comrades and wield
enormous power over junior conscripts.
Aleksanian explained how the system worked. "This 'unit overseer', a
soldier or a sergeant, is usually chosen by the officer in command,
and he enjoys certain privileges. Commanders manage their units
through these overseers - it's easier for them that way. They can
easily call the overseer to order. The soldiers fear and respect him
and he decides everything and punishes those who don't obey."
She noted that the existence of these unofficial enforcers is now
taken as a matter of fact. "The unit overseers... are often cited in
court cases. That makes it sort of official," she said.
A conscript can pay off the network of platoon and battalion commanding
officers, 'unit overseers" and their associates known as the "good
lads" to win privileges, such as extended leave.
A recently demobilised soldier, Vahe Nikoghosian, said he took leave
several times and paid a bribe of around 15 US dollars a day to the
officer. After returning from leave, soldiers then have to bring gifts
- money, food, cigarettes, and, these days, mobile phone credit cards -
to the overseer and his "lads" who made it possible.
Nikoghosian argues that the overseers play a useful role. "Without
them, the soldiers would be constantly fighting each other," he said.
"In our unit, the overseer usually resolved arguments fairly, and
someone who had been insulted could always appeal to him."
He said his parents constantly paid out bribes to make his army life
easier. "They were always sending me food and clothes. When they came
to see me, they'd always invite the officers to a restaurant. On three
occasions, they gave me money to pay officers so I could take leave."
The defence minister says the officer class cannot be wholly blamed
if illegal practices occur in the units under their command.
"It depends not just on the officers but also on the quality of
soldiers coming into the army, what kind of upbringing they've had,
where they grew up and which town of village they lived in before
joining up," Harutiunian told IWPR. "The army can't call up only the
well-disciplined and the properly brought-up."
He promised that "we will do all we can to reduce the number of
negative incidents in the army. Of course, they won't disappear 100
per cent, but we have to work even harder."
Paying the right money or having the right contacts can ensure you
are assigned to an easier posting.
"Parents pay at least 500 dollars to prevent their sons being sent
to a regiment far away on the border," said Postanjian.
The ex-soldier Nikoghosian confirmed this from his own experience,
saying, "Before I was drafted, they [parents] found an acquaintance
who handed over a bribe of 700 dollars so that I would not be sent
me to a regiment posted in a remote location."
The Helsinki Committee reports that there are "VIP units" based close
to the capital Yerevan, which take the sons of government officials,
or anyone willing to hand over between 3,000 and 5,000 dollars.
After IWPR contacted Harutiunian, he ordered the head of the defence
ministry's personnel department, General Vardan Avetisian, to provide
an interview. But in a telephone conversation, Avetisian categorically
refused to be interviewed about corruption or other abuses.
"The army is a closed-in, armoured, invulnerable structure surrounded
by an iron curtain," said Aleksanian. "Of course, hazing may disappear
one day but I cannot see any progress towards making that happen."
(Arsen Karapetian and Vahe Nikoghosian are not the real names of the
soldiers interviewed for this report.)
By Gegham Vardanian, a correspondent with Internews in Yerevan.
Institute for War and Peace Reporting
Aug 17 2007
UK
Defence minister pledges to clean up poor practice, but conscripts
say corruption and violence are still rife.
Arsen Karapetian served in the Armenian army for just over a year
before he fell gravely ill and his parents bought him out in exchange
for a bribe.
Karapetian recalled the incident which led to his illness. "It was
early spring. Early in the morning, we were woken by an alarm call
and they marched us out of the base. There was a heavy downpour and
we were soaked to the skin within five minutes."
The soldiers returned to base and hung out their wet uniforms to dry,
but their company commander ordered them to get dressed and go for a
theory lesson. "We had to put on our wet clothes again and spend an
hour and a half in a cold hall," he said.
Karapetian and more than a dozen other soldiers subsequently contracted
pneumonia, which in his case developed into pleurisy. Some of them
were kept at the base for two weeks before being taken to hospital.
"I grew terribly thin," he said. "Fluid was pumped from my lungs every
day. I was supposed to be demobilised but they kept on postponing
it. In the end, my parents gave a bribe of 500 [US] dollars to the
'right' officers to speed up my demobilisation."
On returning to civilian life, Arsen was registered as a disabled
person.
The military has not taken any action against the officer involved
in the incident.
The often appalling treatment meted out to conscript soldiers during
their two years of military service is widely known about, but is still
off-limits as subject for public debate. According to the Armenian
Helsinki Committee, which monitors human rights in the armed forces,
"The number of crimes is not getting any less, because the culture
of permissiveness and impunity still prevails."
The head of the committee, Avetik Ishkhanian, believes there is an
unwritten law that you cannot speak out publicly about abuses in
the army.
"Soldiers are afraid of speaking the truth while they are serving,"
he said. "They avoid doing so after demobilisation too, and just try
to forget the years they spent in the army."
According to Zhanna Aleksanian, a journalist and human rights activist
who has extensively researched abuses in the military, "Bribery is
commonplace in the army. Beatings and violence meted out by officers
are not even discussed. Parents prefer to remain silent on this issue,
as they do not want to harm their sons even more."
Armenian defence minister Mikael Harutiunian insisted that the military
was tough on disciplining its commissioned officers.
"If officers are guilty and if they have committed a crime, they
are punished," he told IWPR. "Many officers have been dismissed and
prosecuted. Guilty officers are always punished."
However, according to the Armenian prosecutor general's office, of
the 46 convictions of military officers last year, only one involved
mistreatment of a soldier, and three were for taking bribes.
Many experts say that instances of abuse are often covered up.
Lawyer and member of parliament Zaruhi Postanjian said that in cases
where soldiers are injured when the officer who ought to be on duty
is absent from his post, no legal action is taken.
Before she was elected to parliament, Postanjian worked for many
years to protect the rights of young soldiers from the rough rules
of the army's unwritten code. She points to the informal system of
"unit overseers" -men who impose order among their comrades and wield
enormous power over junior conscripts.
Aleksanian explained how the system worked. "This 'unit overseer', a
soldier or a sergeant, is usually chosen by the officer in command,
and he enjoys certain privileges. Commanders manage their units
through these overseers - it's easier for them that way. They can
easily call the overseer to order. The soldiers fear and respect him
and he decides everything and punishes those who don't obey."
She noted that the existence of these unofficial enforcers is now
taken as a matter of fact. "The unit overseers... are often cited in
court cases. That makes it sort of official," she said.
A conscript can pay off the network of platoon and battalion commanding
officers, 'unit overseers" and their associates known as the "good
lads" to win privileges, such as extended leave.
A recently demobilised soldier, Vahe Nikoghosian, said he took leave
several times and paid a bribe of around 15 US dollars a day to the
officer. After returning from leave, soldiers then have to bring gifts
- money, food, cigarettes, and, these days, mobile phone credit cards -
to the overseer and his "lads" who made it possible.
Nikoghosian argues that the overseers play a useful role. "Without
them, the soldiers would be constantly fighting each other," he said.
"In our unit, the overseer usually resolved arguments fairly, and
someone who had been insulted could always appeal to him."
He said his parents constantly paid out bribes to make his army life
easier. "They were always sending me food and clothes. When they came
to see me, they'd always invite the officers to a restaurant. On three
occasions, they gave me money to pay officers so I could take leave."
The defence minister says the officer class cannot be wholly blamed
if illegal practices occur in the units under their command.
"It depends not just on the officers but also on the quality of
soldiers coming into the army, what kind of upbringing they've had,
where they grew up and which town of village they lived in before
joining up," Harutiunian told IWPR. "The army can't call up only the
well-disciplined and the properly brought-up."
He promised that "we will do all we can to reduce the number of
negative incidents in the army. Of course, they won't disappear 100
per cent, but we have to work even harder."
Paying the right money or having the right contacts can ensure you
are assigned to an easier posting.
"Parents pay at least 500 dollars to prevent their sons being sent
to a regiment far away on the border," said Postanjian.
The ex-soldier Nikoghosian confirmed this from his own experience,
saying, "Before I was drafted, they [parents] found an acquaintance
who handed over a bribe of 700 dollars so that I would not be sent
me to a regiment posted in a remote location."
The Helsinki Committee reports that there are "VIP units" based close
to the capital Yerevan, which take the sons of government officials,
or anyone willing to hand over between 3,000 and 5,000 dollars.
After IWPR contacted Harutiunian, he ordered the head of the defence
ministry's personnel department, General Vardan Avetisian, to provide
an interview. But in a telephone conversation, Avetisian categorically
refused to be interviewed about corruption or other abuses.
"The army is a closed-in, armoured, invulnerable structure surrounded
by an iron curtain," said Aleksanian. "Of course, hazing may disappear
one day but I cannot see any progress towards making that happen."
(Arsen Karapetian and Vahe Nikoghosian are not the real names of the
soldiers interviewed for this report.)
UNIVERSITIES SEE LOWER PASS SCORE
By Ruzanna Stepanian
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
Aug 17 2007
Applicants to Armenian universities needed lower scores to be admitted
to academic faculties this year.
At the same time, the number of average scorers in entrance
examinations showed an increase as compared to last year.
About 30 percent of exam takers in the Russian language could not
overcome the minimum required eight-point score, while about 26
percent failed in mathematics. Lower scores were also typical for
the exams in the Armenian people's history and the oral exam in the
Armenian language.
Education Minister Levon Mkrtchian is particularly concerned over the
diminishing interest in natural sciences, such as chemistry, biology
and physics. He says the low level of knowledge among applicants in
these subjects is the omission of their school teachers.
"The entrance examinations have shown that school clearly does not
perform its function, because the high scores registered in these
subjects are the result of private studies with hired teachers,"
Mkrtchian said.
The minister also observed that fewer applicants had taken exams in
German and French as foreign languages, which shows the tendency of the
English becoming the most preferred foreign language among the youths.
Mkrtchian says they often receive requests from parents for their
children to study English rather than German or French at school, which
they think will give their children more chances to be competitive
on the labor market after leaving school.
According to the minister, this year's entrance examinations were
a success in terms of reducing corruption risks, especially in the
exams in the Armenian language and literature due to the application
of a common examination system and a computer-assisted check.
Mkrtchian hopes corruption risks will be reduced also in the exams
in foreign languages and mathematics as the practice is due to be
applied to these subjects as well next year.
HAILSTONE FALLEN IN ARAGATSOTN AND SHIRAK REGIONS CAUSES DAMAGE TO NUMBER OF RURAL COMMUNITIES
Noyan Tapan
Aug 15 2007
YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The grain and potato arable lands
of the Norashen, Hnaberd, Geghadir, Berkarat, Gegharot, Tsilkar,
Derek, and Ortatchya villages have suffered damaged on account of the
strong hailstone fallen in the Aragatsotn region on August 14. This
information was provided to Noyan Tapan by the Information and Public
Relations' Department of the Rescue Service of Armenia.
On the same day the agricultural arable lands in the Arevshat and
Spandarian villages of the Shirak region were damaged, the roofs of
houses and windows were broken, and in Spandarian the wheat field of
35 hectare suffered damages, the roofs of one house and two cattle
sheds were broken as a result of the hailstone fallen at about 21:00.
Commissions have been formed by the regional councils of Aragatsotn
and Shirak in order to check the sizes of the damage.
CASH DISPENSERS IN DOWNTOWN YEREVAN TO RESUME SERVICES NEXT WEEK
Noyan Tapan
Aug 18, 2007
YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The transfer of ArmenTel company's
cables at the crossroads of Yerevan's Tigran the Great Avenue -
Khanjian Street, Vardanants - Khanjian Streets, Nalbandian - Alek
Manukian Streets in connection with the construction of underground
crossings at the indicated crossroads will be completed next week,
NT correspondent was informed by Hasmik Chutilian, PR Director of
ArmenTel.
According to Artur Hakobjanian, employee of Armenian Card company's
technical unit, the servicing by nearly 110 cash dispensers located in
downtown Yerevan has been discontinued since August 15. H. Chutilian
said that the banks, whose management applied to ArmenTel with the
request to be provided other connection ways, have received such
communication and the opportunity for their cash dispensers to operate.
Until now the Armenian banks to have joined Armenian Card system have
provided 117,928 ArCa plastic cards which are serviced by 217 cash
dispensers and 1,296 POS terminals. As of late March 2007, there were
232,762 plastic cards in circulation in Armenia, including 104,216
ArCa cards. Operations of a total of 36 bln 233 mln drams (over 100.8
mln USD) were made with plastic cards in Armenia in the first half
of 2007, including operations of 12 bln 617 mln drams with ArCa cards.
Noyan Tapan
Aug 15 2007
YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, NOYAN TAPAN. The grain and potato arable lands
of the Norashen, Hnaberd, Geghadir, Berkarat, Gegharot, Tsilkar,
Derek, and Ortatchya villages have suffered damaged on account of the
strong hailstone fallen in the Aragatsotn region on August 14. This
information was provided to Noyan Tapan by the Information and Public
Relations' Department of the Rescue Service of Armenia.
On the same day the agricultural arable lands in the Arevshat and
Spandarian villages of the Shirak region were damaged, the roofs of
houses and windows were broken, and in Spandarian the wheat field of
35 hectare suffered damages, the roofs of one house and two cattle
sheds were broken as a result of the hailstone fallen at about 21:00.
Commissions have been formed by the regional councils of Aragatsotn
and Shirak in order to check the sizes of the damage.
CASH DISPENSERS IN DOWNTOWN YEREVAN TO RESUME SERVICES NEXT WEEK
Noyan Tapan
Aug 18, 2007
YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, NOYAN TAPAN. The transfer of ArmenTel company's
cables at the crossroads of Yerevan's Tigran the Great Avenue -
Khanjian Street, Vardanants - Khanjian Streets, Nalbandian - Alek
Manukian Streets in connection with the construction of underground
crossings at the indicated crossroads will be completed next week,
NT correspondent was informed by Hasmik Chutilian, PR Director of
ArmenTel.
According to Artur Hakobjanian, employee of Armenian Card company's
technical unit, the servicing by nearly 110 cash dispensers located in
downtown Yerevan has been discontinued since August 15. H. Chutilian
said that the banks, whose management applied to ArmenTel with the
request to be provided other connection ways, have received such
communication and the opportunity for their cash dispensers to operate.
Until now the Armenian banks to have joined Armenian Card system have
provided 117,928 ArCa plastic cards which are serviced by 217 cash
dispensers and 1,296 POS terminals. As of late March 2007, there were
232,762 plastic cards in circulation in Armenia, including 104,216
ArCa cards. Operations of a total of 36 bln 233 mln drams (over 100.8
mln USD) were made with plastic cards in Armenia in the first half
of 2007, including operations of 12 bln 617 mln drams with ArCa cards.
PAVING OF YEREVAN'S STREETS 92% COMPLETED
Panorama.am
21:05 15/08/2007
The ongoing process of paving the streets of Yerevan is 92%
complete. As informed by the press service of city hall, the work
will be completely finished by September. To reach this deadline,
workers have a 3-tired graphic, as ordered by the mayor of Yerevan
at the most recent planning session.
We remind that this is in accordance with the planned conclusion date
of September 15, excepting the bridge at the corner of Tigran Mets
and Khanjian. That construction will last until October.
Starting tomorrow, work on the roads and bridges will begin, along
with work on the Baghramyan-Kievyan and Kievyan-Orbeli intersections
and on the "Artsakh" and "Freedom" boulevards. A list of expenses
has already been discussed and approved.
According to available information, cracks in the streets will also
be filled by the agreed-upon deadline. Additional workers will be
used to be able to complete the work on time.
Panorama.am
21:05 15/08/2007
The ongoing process of paving the streets of Yerevan is 92%
complete. As informed by the press service of city hall, the work
will be completely finished by September. To reach this deadline,
workers have a 3-tired graphic, as ordered by the mayor of Yerevan
at the most recent planning session.
We remind that this is in accordance with the planned conclusion date
of September 15, excepting the bridge at the corner of Tigran Mets
and Khanjian. That construction will last until October.
Starting tomorrow, work on the roads and bridges will begin, along
with work on the Baghramyan-Kievyan and Kievyan-Orbeli intersections
and on the "Artsakh" and "Freedom" boulevards. A list of expenses
has already been discussed and approved.
According to available information, cracks in the streets will also
be filled by the agreed-upon deadline. Additional workers will be
used to be able to complete the work on time.
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