Mane Tandilyan: Shameful and chaotic situation in Armenian army

ArmInfo. The Armenian Armed Forces are no longer experiencing isolated problems, but a shameful and chaotic situation.

Mane Tandilyan, co-founder of the "Country for Life" party, wrote  this on her Facebook page, discussing the deaths of soldiers in  non-combat situations.

"We barely have time to recover from one tragic incident before we  hear about the next.  Let's officially declare: we don't have  isolated problems in the army, but a shameful and chaotic situation,"  the politician wrote, adding that the main culprit is RA Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan. 

"Nikol Pashinyan appointed Suren Papikyan as Defense Minister. He  dragged him into political processes, leaving the already incompetent  management of the army in the background. Suren Papikyan must go. But  his removal alone is not enough to solve the problem. As long as  Nikol Pashinyan is Supreme Commander-in-Chief, another Papikyan will  take his place. Our army does not need another reshuffle, but  reliable and professional management that will ensure the safety and  successful service of every soldier to the Motherland," noted Mane  Tandilyan.

On August 23, 2026, 22-year-old conscript Edgar Gevorgyan died in a  military unit in Vayk. The soldier's body, with a gunshot wound, was  found on August 23 at a military unit of the Armenian Ministry of  Defense. The Investigative Committee of Armenia has opened a criminal  case under Part 1 of Article 155 (murder) of the RA Criminal Code. A  suspect has already been detained on suspicion of committing the  crime. Since the beginning of 2026, over a dozen deaths of service  members have been recorded in the Armenian Armed Forces, five of whom  were serving in the army. These incidents have sparked widespread  public outcry. Issues related to discipline, hazing, and the morale  of personnel have once again become pressing concerns. Against this  backdrop, the head of the Armenian Ministry of Defense has begun a  series of inspection visits to military units.