OF THE 634 RECORDED CASES ON THE WEBSITE WWW.SAFESOLDIERS.AM MURDER CASES ARE THE MOST PREVALENT
The website and database www.safesoldiers.am has been updated with information provided to Peace Dialogue NGO by private individuals along with information from public media. With this update, the website database now lists a total of634 fatalities in the Armenian armed forces since 1994.
For the period 2010-2014 the information can be considered with some exceptions, as the most complete in the database since the public media more actively and continuously covered fatalities in the armed forces during this period than it has been in previous times. The accuracy of the data regarding some of the incidents is still unclear however as there may not be any official report on the fatality. In some cases we have had to piece together details from a news story about someone who was posthumously awarded a medal by the RA or NK President, from these pieces it becomes apparent which person or incident is being talked about.
The database therefore is still a work in progress particularly since the Ministry of Defense and other authorities constantly refuse to provide information to our organization regarding these tragic incidents. Peace Dialogue NGO has filed a lawsuit trying to force the Ministry of Defense to perform their duties and is waiting for the court’s decision on the admissibility and resolution of the case.Based on the information in the database, of the 634 fatalities, the greatest number of cases 190 is cases of murder. We have already recorded several cases of data manipulation, such as fatal incidents, or murders in combat presented as murders by the enemy, or murders presented as suicides, etc, however one categorizes them, the number of murder cases in our website is the highest. Incidents are recorded in the database as murders guided by official reports however, the descriptions of the cases also include the findings which question the official report, such as the opinions and the testimonies of the relatives, as well as information provided by certain media outlets, watchdog groups or other experts.
126 cases are the results of fatal incidents, 112 cases are the result of ceasefire violations, 72 cases are the result of health issues and 71 cases are recorded as suicides.
Out of 634 cases, 313 were recorded in Nagorno-Karabakh, while 288 were recorded in Armenia. The organization has not been able to find out the exact location of 101 of the cases.
The greatest number of cases which resulted in death was recorded in the 2000 (77 cases). It should be taken into account that the organization does not have complete data for the year 2000.
Based on the data collected so far, the organization has attempted to map the geographical distribution of the cases. Based on the map, most cases in Armenia were recorded in the Tavush region (81). Those fatalities recorded in NK were recorded in the Martakert region (88). The regions with higher concentration of murder cases are Syunik (49), Hadrut (56), Martuni (44) and Gegharkunik (31).
Please review the material at www.safesoldiers.am and if you have any additional information on these or other cases please contact us Peace Dialogue NGO, Address: 40 ap. 12 Myasnikyan str., 2002, Vanadzor, Armenia; Tel: +374 (322) 21340;Mob: +374 (55) 820 632; (93) 820 632, E-mail:[email protected] ; [email protected]
The website is prepared within the project Safe Soldiers for a Safe Armenia supported by Dutch organization Pax.Pax means peace. PAX brings together people who have the courage to stand for peace. Together with people in conflict areas and concerned citizens worldwide, PAX works to build dignified, democratic, and peaceful societies across the globe.
Posted 27 December, 2014
