SOLDIER – HERO OF OUR TIME

Interview with RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan

– Mr.Minister, you have already rejected the statement that «the army is the mirror of the society» and the effort to compare our army with the armies of other countries.

– Yes, that’s right. I am confident that the army being a closed system, acting under direct authority, has more possibilities to confirm its system of values, its morale, its ideas.

– Are you satisfied with the army’s image?

– You know, army’s image reflects on the moral appearance, mood and spirit of the society. Army’s shortcomings (killings, incidents with lethal outcome, favouritism) can demoralize the society, make it diffident, pessimist, malevolent. At the same time the army’s achievements become stimulus for the society, people’s spirit raises, they believe in tomorrow… And this forces us to raise the level all the time and be uncompromising to the imperfections of the army.

-Mr. Ohanyan, what troubles you more in our reality?

– Lack of tolerance, closing eyes on your mistakes, looking for guilties, blowing up others’ blunders.

– What is the biggest guarantee of your optimism?

– The soldier who stands on the border…

Gayaneh Poghosyan