David Babayan on Tragic Incidents in the Army

The press secretary of the Artsakh President, David Babayan, stated on his Facebook page: “In recent days, the tragic events in the army are, in my deep conviction, a very serious warning; such things have not happened in the army before. We must take very sharp and courageous steps, but first, we need to comprehensively study the situation to understand what the cause is, who is to blame, and whether there are shortcomings in the army, from the lowest level to the very top.

We need to see if this is due to the actual state of the army or the moral-psychological and educational state within society. There needs to be a comprehensive plan to understand what the cause is. Most importantly, we need to approach this issue very professionally and avoid speculation, including witch hunts or searching for scapegoats.

Because it is very easy and populist to say, ‘Remove this one, imprison that one.’ But before everything, we need to determine the cause of all this, and if someone should be relieved of their position and punished, that must be done. However, it must happen after a serious study and analysis. A hunting for scapegoats would mean that the goal is not to combat this phenomenon but to resolve certain issues.

Now I see there are specific provocateurs who seem to be waiting for such events to disturb the situation. We must take serious steps to determine what the reasons for this phenomenon are. It’s possible to fight against anything. If you are fighting comprehensively, and the people executing that fight are clean and knowledgeable, any phenomenon can be uprooted.

Deep analyses must be conducted not only in the army but also in the NSS, the prosecutor's office, and various state sectors. It is essential to find out where the roots of this phenomenon come from.