Military salaries cut in Nakhchivan as funding goes to ‘restore’ Nagorno-Karabakh

The Facebook page Gundelik Nakhchivan has written that military officers have contacted them claiming their salaries are being cut in order to fund the restoration of Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘They say that they are threatened when they protest. Of the officers, B.N., did not believe that the money taken from them was intended to aid [Nagorno-Karabakh]’, Gundelik Nakhchivan wrote on Tuesday.

‘We are soldiers, most of us fought in [Nagorno-Karabakh]. We do not mind receiving ₼200-₼300 ($120-$180) a month. We gave our lives for this state and continue to do so. However, it is unacceptable that they constantly deduct from our salaries. We do not believe in what they say. They are appropriating the money that is withheld from us in the name of building [Nagorno-Karabakh]’, B.N. told Gundelik Nakhchivan.

Another officer, identified only as M.D, wrote on  social media that  he recommends using the money of corrupt officials in the construction of Nagorno-Karabakh.

‘We also have our problems. We are always on guard for the homeland. We earn this salary with our labour and sweat. We are in the mountains day and night, and we suffer. However, in Azerbaijan, some officials and businesspeople earn [money] quite easily. It would be better if their money went to the construction of [Nagorno-Karabakh]’, M.D. told Gundelik Nakhchivan.

As the news appeared on social media, another social media page, Hamam Times, also wrote that they had received similar complaints from military personnel.

‘Last month, ₼200 was withdrawn from my brother-in-law’s account, and not only last month, but every month ₼100–₼200 ($60–$120) are withdrawn for no reason’, an anonymous Facebook user wrote.

Nabi Rafigoghlu, a commentator on Hamam Times’ post, wrote that in 2000, when serving as an officer in the front line risking his life ‘in the cold, mud, and snow, half-starved, half-fed, I received a salary of ₼70,000 (around $15 at the time)’.

‘They took ₼10,000 (around $2.3 at the time) from each officer, since construction work was underway in the military unit. The state had already allocated money for construction’.

‘I don’t know why they took this money from us. That’s why I left the army. From the outside, an officer’s job seems easy. But if you are given this job for a month, then in the second month you will run away from there, head over heels. Every night, going to bed, we were grateful that we were alive and not dead. Such people should not be deprived of their salaries’, Rafigoghlu wrote.

OC Media contacted the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defence, but has not received a response as of publication.

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