Parents protest unequal military service terms for same-age conscripts in Armenia

Parents of Armenian conscripts gathered outside the government headquarters on Thursday to protest unequal military service terms affecting young men born in the same year.

The demonstration follows a recent amendment to Armenia’s mandatory military service law, which reduces the length of service to 18 months for conscripts drafted starting from the winter 2025 intake. However, the change does not apply retroactively, leaving those conscripted earlier subject to the previous 24-month term.

“Our only demand is that those drafted in the summer of 2025 also serve 18 months instead of two years,” one protesting parent said. “We’ve sent letters to officials, but they say the law cannot be applied retroactively.”

Parents argued that the policy creates an unfair situation in which conscripts of the same age group face different service durations based solely on their draft date. Some suggested that if retroactive application is not legally feasible, authorities should consider extending leave allowances to effectively equalize the total time served.

“Our sons are currently on duty and don’t even know we’re here,” another parent said. “They are not complaining, but as parents, we feel this is unjust.”

Protesters emphasized that their concerns are not directed against those benefiting from the shorter service term, but rather at the perceived inequality within the same cohort.

In one example cited, a parent said her son, drafted in July 2025, would be discharged later than another conscript who joined in January 2026. “It’s hard to accept that someone who went later will come back earlier,” she said.

The group is calling on the government to find a solution that would harmonize service terms for all conscripts born in 2007, either through legislative changes or administrative measures.