ArmInfo.On November 22, Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan inquired from RA Deputy Minister of Defense Gabriel Balayan about the possibilities to meet the demands of the servicemen participants of the April 2016 war.
To recall, the day before, in the morning, servicemen - participants of the April war held a rally, and late in the evening gathered at the government building. They demanded to add to the military card a note on participation in the April war, as well as to establish benefits for the use of medical services and discounts on training. The new government promised to address their problem in August, but, according to the participants, there are no changes yet.
As Gabriel Balayan pointed out, for more than two decades, there has been a legislative provision, which states that there are a number of restrictions on the issue of granting the status of a combatant.
In particular, the status requires a soldier to participate in hostilities for at least 3 months. This status, as Balayan pointed out, also provides them with certain social guarantees and benefits. At the same time, many military men conscripts were given a note on their participation in battles or on combat duty, which gives them the right to a privilege in the form of a 30% discount on tuition fees. In the meantime, the status of a participant in hostilities gives a wider range of social benefits, which mainly concern the health sector.
Meanwhile, as Pashinyan noted, in the course of communication with the participants of the April war, he had the impression that they did not require the status of a participant in hostilities. This was confirmed by Assistant Prime Minister Nairi Sargsyan, who assured that the former soldiers insist only on a special note about their participation in the four-day April war in the military ticket, which is not motivated by financial issues. Thus, according to Sargsyan, it was decided to add a record in military books about their participation in military actions with an indication of a specific period, without the word "April war". With regard to meeting the requirements for benefits for the use of medical services, as explained by Gabriel Balayan, military retirees and people with disabilities are under the care of the state and receive appropriate medical care in the military hospitals of the country. And for expensive medical services for them a 50% discount.