Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Amused

Vaհe H Apelian 

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Just a short while ago I read Jirair Tutunjian’s report in Keghart.com titled “Pollyanna Pashinyan”. Pollyana means someone who is excessively cheerful when the person does not have much going to be so cheerful, especially for Armenians, let alone Armenian leaders, especially Nikol Pashinyan, according to Jirair Tutunjian. 

Jirair wrote that “A source close to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s inner cabinet lent to us a copy of the speech Mr. Pashinyan will deliver to the nation next week.”  In the copy of Nikol Pashinyan’s speech Jirair has been privy, he highlighted the following statement Nikol Pashinyan will deliver to NA, saying: “I am happy to report to you that I plan to reduce our defense spending from 665 billion drams a year to 563 billion drams. In dollars that’s down to $1.47 billion. We will also reduce compulsory military service from two years to 18 months.”

In order not to offend any Armenian, I was not going to divulge what my trusted source I cannot name, had told me some 7 days ago. Also, I had thought that it is fair I withhold the information trusted to me because I cannot divulge the source. Jirair Tutunjian is a journalist, and an editor. After reading his report, I told to myself, if its good enough for him to report from his unnamed sources, it should be good enough for me to report what my unnamed sources told me, sort of the saying, “what’s good for the goose, is good for the gander.” 

 My trusted source, as I have noted that I cannot name, told me that sometimes during the past seven days, Erdogan was having a hearty lough during a meeting with his bakanlar (ministers). The ministers had no recollection when it was the last time they saw Erdogan in such a light hearted, cheerful mood. But none of ministers dared to ask him why he is so amused. It was his askeri bakan (military minister) who took the courage and the following had transpired.

Askeri bakan (military minister): Effendi, what is that seni eğlendiriyor (amuses you) so much.

Erdogan: yan komşumuz Ermeniler (our next-door Armenian neighbors) bickering how to slice their $9.5 Billion state budget to confront our military, whose $47 Billion budget alone is more than quadruple their entire state budget.

askeri bakan: Effendi, görmezden gelmek (ignore them, sir). Önemli meselelerimiz var (we have pressing issues.)

Reading Jirair’s reporting, I checked the internet and realized that Jirair’s figures are figments of his imagination. But Erdogan speaking on Armenia’s state budget in relations to Turkish military budget was right on the money!..

Yes, Armenia’s 2026 state budget to attend to the many needs of the republic, not to mention the overwhelming poverty, the settlement of the Artsakh refugees, is indeed a meager $9.5 billion while Turkey’s military budget alone is $47 billion. 

What was more surprising to me was that Turkey is listed among the nations that have the shortest mandatory military service of 6 months to a year. Russia’s mandatory military service is a one year.

I wondered who came with this magical number of 2 years compulsory military service  for the Armenian citizens. I also thought cutting the length of the service by six months, may help the government better feed the young serving the army and improve the quality of their training. Napoleon has said, an army cannot march on a half or partially filled stomach, let alone empty. Armenia's conscripts deserve to have a decent, healthy meal, which they are not getting.