The subsequent meeting of the Diaspora Armenian journalists participating in the “Diaspora” Summer School Program was with press secretary of the RA Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan. The meeting was more than anticipated, and even though it was for the participants of the courses for Diaspora Armenian journalists, other participants of the summer school program were also attending the meeting. Mr. Hovhannisyan presented the current problems facing the Armenian army, as well as the goals and achievements and assured once again that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, the Armed Forces of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the entire Defense Army are under one name, and that name is the Armenian Army, the guarantee of whose victory is the trained, efficient and patriotic soldier.

“We’re trying to change the model of the army inherited from the USSR in terms of infrastructure and localize international experience by matching it with our country’s characteristics. In this sense, we have achieved success,” the press secretary of the Ministry of Defense mentioned. Artsrun Hovhannisyan also attached importance to the role and significance of the military education system since this helps shape and train the soldier of the Armenian Army, who is one of the pillars of the system. “We also have to be consistent with the development of the institute of professional sergeants, and this is also very important,” Mr. Hovhannisyan added. As for the aggression that the enemy has been showing over the past couple of years, Artsrun Hovhannisyan also expressed his opinion from the angle of a military expert. “Azerbaijan has to understand very well that the number of weapons is not a determining factor. The Azerbaijanis are moving forward with the psychology of a country that has lost, and very often it is the complexity of that losing country that compels the country to take drastic steps. However, Armenia has always been one step ahead of the enemy,” the expert mentioned.

The Diaspora Armenian journalists wanted to know how they could receive specific information about the current state of affairs in the Armenian Army since not all sources are reliable, especially when there is a large amount of anti-Armenian propaganda abroad. Artsrun Hovhannisyan advised the Diaspora Armenian journalists to create a general virtual platform for Armenian journalists of Armenia and the Diaspora, maintain contacts with the homeland, use reliable sources, one of which is razm.info and not believe the news that Azerbaijan spreads, which Armenia’s journalists sometimes spread as well. One of the participants mentioned that the Ministry of Diaspora has been quite open to the society in terms of information over the past couple of years and asked if there hasn’t been a fair that that kind of access to information can often create an atmosphere of panic in the country. According to Hovhannisyan, the Ministry of Defense made an informed choice when it chose to work transparently when the society and journalists weren’t even ready for that.

The participants also wanted to know what can be done to make sure the 18-year-old soldier doesn’t act like he does on the streets and doesn’t have the criminal mind of actors on television in the Armenian Army. Artsrun Hovhannisyan said the solution to this was the right kind of disciple in the family and at school and attached importance to the society’s involvement in all this.

Amalya Karapetyan