Tigran Abrahamyan, MP from the I Have Honor parliamentary faction, took to Facebook to condemn senior military and government officials for failing to visit Yerablur on the anniversary of the deadly clashes that took place in September 2022 near Jermuk and other parts of Armenia’s eastern border.
He noted that although only three years have passed since the war, the authorities did not consider it necessary to lay a wreath in memory of the fallen. Instead, a large concert was organized in Hrazdan on the same day, seemingly to distract from the tragic date.
“Pashinyan is not only publicly voicing his formula for dismantling the army, but also demonstrating how he plans to get there, from discrediting the military to reducing the Ministry of Defense to a routine structure,” Abrahamyan wrote.
He added that a recent wave of public discourse had raised the question of the government’s moral integrity, given its silence on the Azerbaijani offensive that resulted in significant territorial losses and the death of 224 Armenian soldiers.
“The defense minister, the chief of the general staff, and other high-ranking officers flattering Papikyan didn’t even consider it necessary to go to Yerablur and honor those martyred in defense of the country,” he added.
Abrahamyan emphasized that the authorities have effectively closed the chapter on those who fought and died in those days. “To dilute the public memory, the government organized a concert to keep people distracted.”
He concluded by calling this behavior a devastating blow to the army and the nation's moral fabric: “This is one of the most extreme ways to gut the army: belittling the mission of homeland defense and burying its value system.”
On September 13, 2022, Azerbaijan launched a large-scale offensive along Armenia’s eastern border. In response, Armenia's Security Council officially appealed to Russia under the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance, as well as to the CSTO and the UN Security Council.
The attacks left 207 Armenian soldiers dead, over 20 captured, and 293 wounded. Armenia also lost dozens of hectares of territory and suffered damage to residential areas and infrastructure.
