How was the Soldier's Protection Committee NGO founded?

In 2002 my son, Andranik Silakyan, died in the Nagorno Karabakh Republic Defense Army. He was killed by another serviceman. When after some time I recovered myself, there were other mothers like me around me, and we founded the Soldier's Protection Committee in a non-formal way. It is already the third year that we are in the formal field, we have been registered though it hasn't changed our activity much, we continue to act in the same way. The goal is, first of all, to become the mother who will not make people take pity on her by putting her grief in the window or hurt others and frustrate them too, but just the opposite - we have demands, we are going to fight till the very end not to allow other deaths. But I feel pain that we still have such cases.

What is the reason of army killings in your opinion?

Not all the young men in the army are properly brought-up, not everyone's parents from the day of their birth have sown patriotism, diligence, respect and have taught where their rights end where the rights of the others begin...

Every person has to be in his or her place starting from the parent. What does this mean? First, before their sons go to the army Armenian mothers do not regard their sons as men, do not allow their character to be formed. Second, serious patriotic work has to be done in school, they should teach students to be responsible for their friend sitting next to them. Whereas we let everything slide, we start thinking when the army time comes, we think it is the starting point. This is wrong.

In the military unit the commander should be in his place, also his deputies, officers should be literate, competent. If in military institute we educate officers who understand soldier's psychology, the army will consist of healthy, competent officers, and the soldiers will be more prepared... In my opinion, everybody has to be involved in this work.       

You said you would fight not to allow the growth of the number of mothers in black. What form of fight have you chosen?

Trials, visits to military units, receptions... The main thing is the trials: we become legal successors of victims and by all means perform supervision - we follow the case from the preliminary investigation, demand the documents, if the parents wish we become their representatives in the court. We never enter the field where we have no right to enter, but we also lay claims to the investigation body.

I have many times participated in body examinations, I was the first to go to the morgue but I didn't make announcements about it because my goal was first of all to be next to the family of the victim.

We have meetings, raise questions before high ranking officials - up to the Minister of Defense. We cooperate with the public council of the Ministry of Defense. Unfortunately, many people, even from NGOs, I don't know why, are waiting for high-profile cases to make a show on it. They see some soldier's death and get dividends from it.   

Recently you were not present at the "Army in Black"  initiative. Why were you not next to mothers in black?  

It was my birthday on that day, I was in Gyumri, but if I were in town I would participate, I see no problem here. But I don't understand the goal of that action, what did they want to show by it? If they wanted to show the number [of participants], they were not many. Yes, we will not keep silent, but if we speak, let's speak about real things. Whereas there people who don't even know what army is spoke there.

Actions should have a concrete purpose: if we want not to have army, that's a different thing, then let's do it in that way. But if I know that by my actions I inspire fear to other soldiers that still have to serve and they go to the army with complexes, what will it lead to?

There are thousands of methods that can be applied to check the work. Demand work. Make high ranking officials come and at least once a week report for the work done, answer questions from parents, and together with parents demand from appropriate bodies unbiased investigation. I am always indignant, why is it called special investigation department of the Ministry of Defense; if the department was part of the Ministry how can it conduct unbiased investigation? I was always concerned with that question.   

During our last discussion we stated that it is not right to declare that it was a suicide or due to shot from the enemy. If there is a case, just register it and let the investigation body find out what happened. Unless you have experts' conclusions, you have no right to make announcements, it can be considered a message, an instruction to the preliminary investigation body.

Are the parents properly informed about the death of their son and how is the body handed to the parents?

I would like very much not to have such cases, but if it already happened, I would like very much that the first persons next to the family of the victim in the morgue were the representatives of the office that had taken the boy to the army - local military enlistment office. Very rarely one can see them there. Next - command staff of the military unit, appropriate officer from the Ministry of Defense should be next to these people, but they never come and often with a miserable justification like "they said relatives of the killed soldier were armed and waiting...".

During a recent discussion the question was raised again - why isn't the killed soldier properly accompanied home? They answered that there have been cases of attacks from the relatives... Let them attack, let them give a slap. Everybody should stand next to the grieving family. Nobody should be concerned for his own skin.

What steps should be taken to prevent murders in army in time of peace?

It is not obligatory to have a wave of protest to start a discussion. Let us gather and discuss it every single day. Call them, if they do not come, condemn them. They are demanding Seyran Ohanyan's resignation, why don't they give the name of Yuri Khachaturov, Chief of General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, in relation to the events in the army, ask no questions, isn't he the main responsible person?  Why don't they say "If there is anything good, show also the good, why don't we see it?" Let's go by the way of demanding work.

Interview by Mary Alexanyan          

Source - www.hra.am