The most discussed issue in the society during the past several months is the issue of the army. A part of people are true to criticize and address the shortcomings in the army and say that if it continues this way, the results may be crucial. Others, even from the opposition and government, are discussing the issues and shortcomings of the army in other ways and for political purposes. The situation has changed in the past months and now the conversations about the army and its shortcomings have become an issue for checking if people are in the government’s pocket or no. Of course it concerns the opposition activists first of all. Thus, the interview of Vagharshak Harutyunyan, former defense minister and the incumbent member of the board of opposition party Republic may become a new topic for alleging that certain people have been paid and are in the pockets of the government. Harutyunyan spoke of a number of shortcomings in the army and pointed out at a number of problems to be solved in order to exclude such shortcomings. Meanwhile he spoke of the issue of prolonging the term of the Russian army forces in Armenia on contractual basis and his opinions about this issue are totally different from the opposition’s opinion. Many people may disagree with that, but it should be discussed, arguments should be brought and all opinions should be explained and justified if the final goal is the solution of the problems in the army. However, in consideration of the stereotypes in Armenia and the recent experience in the political sector, we should wish Mr. Harutyunyan patience and be strong enough to resist the future discussions about “treason”. First of all it concerns his teammates.
