Armenian parliament majority OKs army chief bill
Lawmakers from Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party approved in the second reading on Thursday a government-drafted bill to make the Armenian army chief directly subordinate to the defense minister.
Under the new measure, the chief of the Armenian military’s General Staff will also automatically serve as first deputy defense minister.
Also, the amendments to the defense law call for clarification of the powers of Armenia’s Defense Ministry, the General Staff and their heads.
Opposition MPs criticized the bill, accusing the ruling team of politicizing the military and ensuring control over it.
“We have been talking about it for 4-5 months now, about 4 months ago we even submitted written proposals and observations to the Defense Ministry and the General Staff, but for the authorities this is a political decision and that's it. That is why they did not even respond to us. Their task is to pass amendments in the National Assembly,” MP Tigran Abrahamyan of the opposition Pativ Unem bloc wrote on Facebook.
“The Civil Contract party is only interested in ensuing control over the army. They are not concerned about other opinions," he said.