Military serviceman from Gyumri Ashot Voskanyan has been having his military service for 12 months on crutches.

He was called to the army in spring, 2008, with an in-born illness of a right knee-joint mobility-bones twisting.

During the call to the military service a professional diagnosed his illness, but it was not taken into consideration in the military commission. 

On the 4th day of the service the soldier was in need of a crutch because he was unable to move. However, military administration has been keeping him in the military unit by all means.  His parents who have suffered pain and anguish with their son for more than one year every time when they applied to the military administration for medical treatment they faced a rough power. During the second part of June Ashot Voskanyan received 8 day holiday and returned home from Kelbadjar military unit. The parents again tried to provide their son with medical treatment during this period. For several days they were knocking either on the door of the ministry or on the military-medical committee seeking for support so that their son received medical treatment in the professional hospital, but it was all in vain.

Ashot was not given even an opportunity to be treated in the military hospital.

On the 8th day of the holiday, when the parents waited at the Central Military Hospital of Yerevan since early morning, father of the soldier Vardan Voskanyan was threatened by the commanding administration of the military unit. "If your son does not come to the military unit till 2 o'clock we will come and bring him by force", they threatened his father, who is a second grade disabled person. "I am telling them if you are talking like that to me I can imagine how you would talk to my son..." the father was saying with anger.

We tried to find out from Arshaluys Paytyan, general-mayor, who presented military clique and military-medical committee, how a soldier on crunches had been serving his military service, why he had been forbidden medical treatment, and at last why his parents were threatened by the administration of the military unit. Mrs. Paytyan obviously did not like the fact that somebody was aware of their internal life and started to talk about the order of the army and at last promised to intervene to get a positive solution. And he intervened. After 1-2 hours from his interference military-medical committee came to a new conclusion concerning the state of health of the soldier. Stating that his current state of health is better than ever, and Ashot is ordered to return to the military unit immediately.

"I was told that my son was a simulator, and is doing simulations. And my son was told to throw away the crunch and go to the military unit to continue his service".

Members of the committee saw the poor parents off treating them in a very rude and disrespectful manner. Ashot returned to the military unit with the crunch, but it disappeared very soon. It is not difficult to guess what could have happened with a soldier with a tag of a "simulator". It should also be noted that 1.5 km far is from the military unit to the cafeteria and if 3 times per day the soldier went to the cafeteria, it meant that he had to walk without a crunch about 9 km and it's natural that his leg would become out of order because of that much overwork. And it happened so.

Exactly in a week, on July 1 the soldier in terrible pains, with swollen and bruised foot appeared in Vardenis military hospital, where he was operated on. At this moment his state is far from being well. We should also note that a day before the operation the soldier's parents with a signature of General Arshaluys Paytyan received a note that according to the examination of military-medical committee "Ashot Voskanyan fits for parade service and at this moment needs neither operation nor conservative treatment". The general who likes discipline showed astonishing consistency, but in reality the soldier appeared on the operation table exactly the next day after the note was received. Who are the leading experts of the military medical committee that cause the law-abiding general's misunderstanding.  Their names with Phd ranks are also known- one of the persons with this conclusion is Erebuni hospital director Charchyan.

One more operation Ashot has had in March of this year, and now whatever is happening to him can be a consequence of a bad operation, but it's all the same, he was not moved to the professional hospital. Soldier's parents are hopeless, "What has my child done that he is treated like that. He is not their enemy, is he?"

Ashot Voskanyan during 12 months of his service has served fully only 4 days. On the 4th day when implementing the order to run he fell to the ground and lost consciousness. The knee joint was damaged and 18 year-old young person lost his consciousness.

"On June 14, on the 14th day of his service, we went to Kelbadjar, Ashot was in slippers, the foot could not move, it was bowed, and he walked with difficulty..", his parents were telling.

A letter of complaint was written to the Defense Minister and only after 26 days, on July 2, Ashot was moved to Vardenis military hospital, then to Yerevan central hospital, where head of Traumatology department Mr. Yesayan diagnosed "Knee joints insignificant super-mobility" moving him from hospital to hospital that is being continued up to now, did not register any positive improvement related to the illness, quite the contrary his state is deteriorating day by day.

"My son's state has deteriorated which is their fault", parents are saying, who cannot understand how a soldier can implement his service on crunches. "Probably he is filling the quantity serving instead of somebody". 

Zhanna Aleksanyan

P.S. Every time before calling to the military service Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan appears in the Armenian TV to say his authoritative speech to the newly called servicemen.  The minister says that he and his department are led by one slogan "no sick soldier in the army". The minister tells also about their efforts done in this direction. But these are just words that are not connected to the reality.