Parents of servicemen with 2-year service hold protest

ArmInfo.  Parents of servicemen conscripted for two years of mandatory military service under the old law held a protest outside the Armenian Ministry of Defense. They  demand that their children serve under the new law, which reduces the  mandatory military service period to 1.5 years.

During the protest, they handed a letter to the Armenian Ministry of  Defense, where they presented their demands. They said they were  appealing to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Defense  Minister Suren Papikyan to not ignore this issue.

In a conversation with journalists, one of the protesters noted that  the current situation is unfair and creates unequal conditions. "Why  does my child have to serve for two years, while those serving under  the new law have to serve for 1.5 years? There are children from the  same class, but some are serving under the old law, while others are  serving under the law that came into effect on January 1st of this  year. My child wasn't even allowed to take exams and was drafted into  the army," said a participant in the protest.

Another parent noted that this change had a psychological impact on  their children. She said her son was drafted on July 2nd, 2025, and  must serve two years in the army, while his classmates drafted after  January 1st will serve for 1.5 years. "We just want the Minister of  Defense to think about these children. Although they don't talk about  it personally, we see how this is affecting them psychologically,"  the parent emphasized.

It should be noted that the Ministry agreed to meet with several  parents to hear their demands. As a reminder, on October 30, 2025,  the Armenian government, at its regular session, approved a reduction  in the mandatory military service term from 24 to 18 months, starting  with the winter draft of 2025. On November 24, the relevant  parliamentary committee approved the urgent submission of this bill  to the Armenian parliament for discussion. Independent experts are  inclined to believe that the ruling party, led by Pashinyan, is  attempting to secure additional votes in the upcoming parliamentary  elections scheduled for June 2026. Gegham Manukyan, a member of  parliament from the opposition Armenia faction, drew attention to the  inadequacy of the assessments, forecasts, and opinions of the General  Staff and other defense units. According to him, introducing such  changes without proper analysis of their impact creates security  threats and will also have psychological consequences for service  members in a situation where those conscripted for two years and  those serving under the new law will serve in the Armed Forces  simultaneously.