Pashinyan Blames Army Deaths on His Own 'Peace'
He says soldiers die now because there's no enemy shooting, so they get lax.
This clip captures what the hosts call the most appalling detail of the whole discussion on military deaths. According to Hovik, Pashinyan attributed some of the rising toll to his own peace. The reasoning offered: with no more enemy shooting at soldiers, troops become more relaxed, they can sleep at their posts, and disputes even break out over who gets the privilege of sleeping during a watch, disputes that turn deadly.
The hosts react with disbelief. Asbed says it makes no sense to him. Hovik asks what kind of person uses that as an excuse and tries to pin the deaths on peace itself. The moment lands because it is a self-indicting line: rather than pointing to discipline, command failures, or accountability, the explanation reframes preventable deaths as a byproduct of calm on the border.
The exchange fits the episode’s wider argument about a lack of responsibility at the top of the Armenian government. Elsewhere the hosts note the sharp increase in non-combat deaths since the declared peace and the absence of consequences for senior officers. Placed against that backdrop, the quote becomes a symbol of how blame is deflected downward and outward. For viewers following Armenian news, the Civil Contract government, and the peace process, it is a short, striking window into how the leadership talks about the safety of its own soldiers.
Transcript
Hovik Manucharyan: Anyway, but what's most appalling, what's most Disgusting about all this is that Pashinyan says that some of these deaths are actually because of his peace. I mean, can you think of anything more Orwellian than that statement?
Asbed Bedrossian: Yeah, it makes no sense to me.
Hovik Manucharyan: Do you know what the excuse is? He says, well, right now, because there is no more enemy shooting at you, people are more lax and they can decide to sleep at their posts. And now there's some kind of a fight over who gets to sleep during their watch on the posts. And because this is a privilege, people fight over it. And that's why the deaths happened. Can you imagine what a scum you have to be to use that as an excuse and try to blame it on his peace?