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Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has established an interagency working group tasked with developing systemic solutions to suicides and non-statutory relations in the armed forces.
The term “non-statutory relations” is often used to describe hazing-related incidents or behavior influenced by street-code mentality that violates the military’s code of conduct.
The decree, published online, said the working group has been given three months to develop and submit relevant proposals to the prime minister.
The working group includes Defense Minister Suren Papikyan, who also heads the group; Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasyan; Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan; Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Lt. Gen. Edvard Asryan; the deputy ministers responsible for the relevant areas at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs; the deputy directors responsible for the relevant areas at the National Security Service, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Investigative Committee; the head of the Security Council Office; and Maj. Gen. Aram Hovhannisyan, head of the Military Police.