{"id":8448,"date":"2017-07-20T02:07:37","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T02:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/media-battle-v-corruption-is-the-army-the-mirror-of-society-part-ii\/"},"modified":"2017-07-20T02:07:37","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T02:07:37","slug":"media-battle-v-corruption-is-the-army-the-mirror-of-society-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/critique\/2017\/07\/20\/8448\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Battle v. Corruption: Is the Army the Mirror of Society? (Part II)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mediamart<\/em> (Media Battle) is a digital game developed by the Media Initiatives Center [also responsible for this site] for journalism enthusiasts. Independent Armenia\u2019s media already has more than a quarter of a century of history, but media coverage of corruption (the fight against corruption) is more like a game \u2014 at least in terms of effectiveness. <\/p>\n

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5. Is the army the mirror of society? (Part II)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Four-Day April War created an atmosphere of public mobilization in Armenia. At the same time, the loss of an 800-hectare territory and a significant number of victims evoked serious public discontent toward the political and military leadership.<\/p>\n

According to media reports<\/a>, Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces Yuri Khachaturov the evening before the attack was playing billiards \u201cat the Eiffel club, which he owns.\u201d He was warned several times about the maneuvers from the Azerbaijani side, but the colonel-general replied, \u201cDon\u2019t pay attention to the Azeris.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the GalaTV.am video<\/a>, Khachaturov, successfully breaking the blockade of journalists, denies this information rather frankly.<\/p>\n

True, there are ten-year-old publications where he is accused of gambling, which could\u2019ve been cause for criminal negligence.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong those delirious with army-building, doesn\u2019t a question arise on with whose money or whose account Y. Khachaturov is wasting millions in casinos?\u201d asks the newspaper Chorrord Inqnishkhanutyun<\/em> in an article titled \u201cKhachaturov Is Seen Often in Casinos and Pool Halls<\/a>\u201d (October 25, 2008).<\/p>\n

No official response has been made about this or the news stories of Khachaturov opening a new pool hall in August 2016 and one that is closer to his workplace. <\/p>\n

In 2009, Chorrord Inqnishkhanutyun<\/em> published an entire series of articles on the unlawful business activities of military servicemen, one of whom was later closely connected to the \u201cbuffalo meat\u201d case<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The other, now working in the police force, was to be accused of using violence against demonstrators and intimidating voters. \u201cIf you get a Lori native to talk, he will definitely begin the list of forest devourers with major-generals Arshaluys Paytyan and Lyova Yeranosyan\u2019s names\u201d (\u201cThe Generals, the Prosecutor, and Hayantar [Armforest],\u201d February 10, 2009).<\/p>\n

Another corruption scandal followed the April War: three senior defense ministry officials were arrested in May \u2014 for appropriating145 million AMD. Later, the preventative measure for former chief of the Ministry of Defense\u2019s Armament Department Melsik Chilingaryan was changed because of a health condition, and the online media, at least, no longer turned its attention to the case proceedings.<\/p>\n

In the army, however, there are more important issues than senior officials\u2019 gambling and unlawful business activities \u2014 the murders, first of all.<\/p>\n

According to human rights advocate Avetik Ishkhanyan, until the early 2000s, the media was guided by the principle of \u201cabout the army, either good [news] or nothing at all,\u201d while law enforcement agencies were ordered to present the murders as suicides. <\/p>\n