Nobody noticed that the solider crossed the border to the Azerbaijani side
Among the issues that have recently worried Armenian society, perhaps the most important one is the case of Armenian soldier Hakob Injighulyan who accidentally appeared on the Azerbaijani side of the border.
On the night of August 7, Soldier Injighulyan got lost and inadvertently crossed the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line. During the last few days, many comments were made regarding an interview with the soldier in which he supposedly mentioned that he refused to obey his commander and left the Armenian side of his own will.
“There is no serious information regarding the incident yet. On the one hand, it is clear that any stir may be dangerous for the situation. On the other hand, it turns out we possess little information. The Ministry of Defense denied the assumption that this could be a kidnapping. Besides the fact that the Azerbaijani side has violated the articles of Geneva Convention, the video itself was a violation. The fact that the captive is being interviewed and that his meeting with the journalist was published also proves that there is a great possibility that it was all carried out under pressure. For me as a citizen, it remains unclear what Hakob Injighulyan was doing out of his military post at night,” the President of Peace Dialogue NGO said in an interview with Asparez daily newspaper.
According to the official information, the soldier had -3 myopia. The question arises whether a person who has health issues can protect the RA border, let alone to be on the front-line. Doesn’t Armenian security suffer as a result of such things? According to Edgar Khachatryan, the sequence of the actions carried out by the Ministry of Defense also require some questions and answers. Why did the RA Ministry of Defense decide to take some actions only after the soldier’s interview in Azerbaijan and the panic raised by the soldier’s family?
“Taking into consideration the lessons learned, it turns out that civic demonstration is very important. When the parents and some civic groups raise the issues, only then the Ministry takes some action. We would have little information, taking into consideration that certain confidentiality makes sense. But on the other hand keeping society unaware is also a serious issue,” says Mr. Khachatryan.
Edgar Khachatryan said it is difficult to say much about the possible reasons why the soldier had left the Armenian side. But according to him the reason why the soldier was presented in such a way by the Azerbaijani side was to create a negative opinion about the RA armed forces. According to him, the Azerbaijani side wants to show that they are humanists—that they treat people very well. And it may also be possible that there was no bruise on the soldier. It could have been recreated with makeup in order to show the “miserable” conditions in the Armenian army.
Concerning Hakob Injighulyan’s crossing the contact line after a possible dispute with his commander and the fact that he left the Armenian side without any obstacles, Edgar Khachatryan said the following: “The soldier happened to be out of his military post. That is to say, it is possible that there has been some issue with the commander. From this incident, we may assume that any diversion group from Azerbaijan can enter the Armenian side. If nobody saw how this soldier left, consequently nobody could see a diversion group entering the Armenian side. The soldier crossed the border and entered the Azerbaijani side without being seen by anybody. This is a serious security issue.”
Edgar Khachatryan also mentioned that it would have been right to cooperate with international organizations from the very first day. Armenia has a committee that deals with the issues of the captives and missing persons. During the first days, this committee did nothing and said nothing related to the incident. “The deputy minister of Foreign Affairs met the representatives of Red Cross only after 8 days. So this is an indicator that our Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not ready for such things. I can say the same thing about the Ministry of Defense.”
Mr. Khachatryan optimistically mentions that there are already various conversations about the exchange of the captives and he thinks our soldier will be returned to Armenia very soon. Let us mention that the representatives of the Azerbaijani Red Cross have already met Hakob Injighulyan. The soldier sent a note to his relatives saying that he is fine.
Edgar Khachatryan is also very concerned about the drafting of a conscript that has health issues and who is later expected to protect the RA border. In 2013, three death cases in the army were the result of health issues. According to him, the army lacks professionalism. In other words it is important that at least the soldier who protects the border is professional. This year from January to July there were 18 death cases recorded (6 considered to be suicides and 5 murders).
Author: Lusine Avagyan
Source: www.asparez.am
Posted 22 August, 2013
