Ministry spokesman: HCA Vanadzor Office used to manipulating figures

“I am not surprised that Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office presented such abnormal figures. It is data manipulation without any reason,” Armenian Defense Ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisian told the correspondent of Aysor.am when commenting on the HCA Vanadzor Office’s statement to the effect that 20 deaths were recorded in the Armenian army in June and July 2013.

In his words, that organization is used to manipulating figures and solders’ lives. “The information released by the HCA Vanadzor Office is taken out of thin air, this data does not correspond to reality,” A. Hovhannisian said.

According to him, the data presented by the HCA Vanadzor Office is 4-5 times the real number of deaths in the army in June-July of this year.

“The total number of losses this year does not exceed two dozen, and this is the data of not two months, but seven, including August 2nd, “he noted.

As regards the statement’s part which says that “Investigations into deaths are not conducted in an objective and comprehensive way and are accompanied by pressure on witnesses, violence and illegal actions,” A. Hovhannisian stressed the inadmissibility of making such statements without facts and proof.

“There are courts, investigatory agencies, and the legal system, and if they have any facts, they should submit those facts to a court,” the ministry spokesman said.

“Whenever HCA Vanadzor Office submitted facts to the Defense Ministry, we examined them in detail,” Artsrun Hovhannisian said.