Shaki incident: Speaker points to potential pros and cons of warning population in advance

Pointing to the potential benefits and risks of either decision, Parliament Speaker Ruben Rubinyan (Civil Contract) cautioned on Tuesday against drawing premature conclusions about whether Armenia’s authorities should have warned residents in advance about the possible presence of an Azerbaijani serviceman after being notified of his possible border crossing, which subsequently resulted in a woman being shot in her home in Shaki settlement.

Speaking to journalists, Rubinyan said the actions of Armenia’s authorities in connection with the incident, including the advisability of warning the population in advance, can be discussed.

He said that when making such decisions, it is necessary to assess their potential benefits and harms.

He was responding to a question about why residents had not been warned in advance about the possible presence of the Azerbaijani serviceman on Armenian territory, after Armenian authorities had been notified by Azerbaijani security services that a deserter from the Azerbaijani army could have crossed into Armenia.

“It is also possible to discuss the issue from a strategic and tactical perspective. Is warning the population in such cases useful or not? What causes more harm, and what is the benefit? For example, it may be that you know there is a chance that the serviceman is in your territory, but he may also not be in your territory. In that case, you might inform the population, and as a result, residents might accidentally shoot at each other because everyone thinks there is a serviceman in the area. And there are a thousand things like this that the competent authorities need to discuss and make a decision on. And I am sure that, looking back, there will be relevant processes, and they will understand whether it was done correctly or incorrectly, well or badly,” Rubinyan said.

The Parliament Speaker also addressed the circumstances under which the serviceman appeared on Armenian territory.

According to Rubinyan, the Azerbaijani side’s prior notification provides grounds to conclude that the incident was not sabotage.

“In this case as well, it still needs to be established under what circumstances this serviceman appeared on Armenian territory, that is, whether he is a deserter or just got lost. I assume that he is a deserter. But it is obvious that we are not dealing with sabotage, because if we were dealing with sabotage, the Azerbaijani side would not have informed the Armenian side in advance. Therefore, the good news is that we are not dealing with a deliberate incursion instigated by Azerbaijan,” he said.

Rubinyan described the home intrusion and shooting of the resident as a crime, emphasizing that the serviceman was arrested and charged.

According to him, the subsequent proceedings should be handled by the justice authorities.

Addressing opposition criticism regarding the incident’s impact on the peace process, the Parliament Speaker insisted that, in this case, the actor was an individual who committed a crime.

He also accused his opposition colleagues of exploiting the incident to criticize the authorities’ position on peace.

Armenia’s National Security Service said last Thursday that it had been notified by Azerbaijani authorities earlier, on September 29, that an Azerbaijani serviceman had allegedly gone AWOL and was missing. The Azerbaijani side did not rule out that he could have crossed into Armenia. Armenia and Azerbaijan conducted a search operation. Later, on October 1, Armenian emergency services received a report that an Armenian citizen, a 39-year-old woman, had been shot in the leg at her home in the Shaki settlement in Syunik Province. Authorities determined that the Azerbaijani serviceman was the shooter, and he was apprehended shortly afterward in Shaki and detained.

Meanwhile, health authorities said earlier last week that the woman was in non-life-threatening condition and was receiving the required treatment. She was transferred to Yerevan after being initially hospitalized in Sisian. The Sisian Medical Center reported that the injured Armenian citizen’s children, who were with their mother during the incident, aged 15 and 12, had sought medical assistance for bodily injuries. The 12-year-old child had a soft-tissue contusion, while the 15-year-old child had a fracture of the right wrist. Health authorities said Friday that the children were in satisfactory condition.

The Azerbaijani serviceman faces charges of illegally crossing Armenia’s state border, smuggling military-use products, firearms and ammunition, illegally trafficking in firearms and ammunition, illegally entering another person’s residence against their will, and causing grievous bodily harm under aggravating circumstances, including with a firearm.