Former MP Samvel Farmanyan called it a national disgrace and lasting shame that five years after the 2020 war, the Armenian authorities have yet to release or publicize a full list of the individuals who died during the war and subsequent tragedies.
He presumes that, following the war end, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan deliberately circulated only the number of casualties holding Armenian citizenship.
"Political manipulation around the number of Armenian casualties, which has remained at 5,000 in public discourse and media since the war, despite the authorities claiming it's inflated, is the result of two clear factors. First, the government has not published a full list of our fallen; second, not only on this issue but on any other, the public's first reaction to Nikol and his government's statements is suspicion and disbelief. Years ago, a taxi driver put it perfectly: if Nikol tells you 'good morning,' your first instinct should be to check whether it's already evening."
Addressing the main issue, he urged journalists to help bring clarity.
He recalled that on September 27, 2021, the Armenian government itself stated that 3,781 Armenian citizens were killed in the 2020 war and 283 were reported missing (Screenshot 1). Simultaneously, the then Artsakh authorities reported 822 citizens of the Republic of Artsakh killed and 65 missing (Screenshot 2).
Given the tragic fate of most missing persons, the total number of Armenian casualties in the 2020 war alone amounts to at least 4,951, he said.
"While I cannot confirm definitively, I strongly suspect that only the number of Armenian citizens killed was intentionally circulated by Nikol Pashinyan within his infamous '+/-50' cynical logic. This is where the root of deception and manipulation lies."
He added that the combined total of casualties from Armenia and Artsakh aligns with what is commonly stated in public discourse.
"Not to mention the 224 Armenian casualties during the 2022 Azerbaijani incursion, and the 223 deaths during the September 2023 offensive in Artsakh, bringing the total death toll from wars under Nikol Pashinyan’s leadership to over 5,000—specifically, 5,074."
He asked journalists to verify whether the casualty statistics frequently cited by Pashinyan and his government for the 2020 war include victims from Artsakh, or whether discriminatory exclusion has occurred even in the matter of war dead. He also questioned whether the fatalities from the 2022 and 2023 conflicts are included in those same official figures.
“As for the dozens of tragic deaths under peaceful conditions due to mismanagement, let us remain silent,” Farmanyan concluded.
