Armenian authorities have informants within opposition – presidential adviser

Aykakan Zhamanak, Yerevan
15 Jun 04

Text of Naira Zograbyan interview with Garnik Isagulyan, presidential
adviser on national security, by Armenian newspaper Aykakan Zhamanak
on 15 June headlined “Moles are not moles”

[Correspondent] Who was behind the advice to [Armenian President]
Robert Kocharyan to appoint you adviser on national security issues?

[Garnik Isagulyan] Generally the president himself forms his team
and any appointment is, first of all, his choice.

[Correspondent] There are rumours that you have managed to leave
Kocharyan’s first assistant, Armen Gevorkyan, in the shadows, and to
occupy the place of Kocharyan’s favourite.

[Isagulyan] All this kind of information is not realistic. Everybody
in this building [president’s office] has their own function. As for
my relations with Armen Gevorkyan, we work together very well and
there is no disagreement between us.

[Correspondent] What kind of advice have you given to Robert Kocharyan
on national security during the past two months to justify your
appointment?

[Isagulyan] The most important is that a political research institute
attached to the president will be set up soon, which will deal with
internal as well as external and regional problems. Moreover, work
has been started to develop a national security concept.

[Correspondent] Mr Isagulyan, there are rumours that moles exist
amongst the opposition, with whom you cooperate, and who give
information to the authorities from time to time.

[Isagulyan] What does it mean to cooperate? There are no moles,
simply there are people who think soberly and today are trying to
have contact with the authorities and submit their viewpoint.

[Correspondent] If they share information with the authorities,
why do none of them publicly declare this?

[Isagulyan] You know, each of them is frightened of being called a
“mole”. They are frightened that their colleagues will not understand
them correctly, because there are people in the opposition who see
their death if they cooperate with the authorities, because these
people as politicians have no value.

[Correspondent] Mr Isagulyan, will you name some people from the
opposition who share information with the authorities?

[Isagulyan] I have no problem and would name them, but unfortunately
these people ask us not to mention their names, as they are frightened
of their so-called friends. They do not want to find themselves in
the tabloid press and do not want to see the failure of their work.

[Correspondent] Are their opposition friends aware of their service
to the authorities?

[Isagulyan] They are not serving the authorities, they are serving
our state, our nation.

[Correspondent] During your recent meeting with journalists you said
that the next president will be from Karabakh as well.

[Isagulyan] It was not so. A journalist asked me why the Armenian
president is of Karabakh origin, and I told him not to be in a hurry,
because it is not ruled out that the next president won’t be of
Karabakh origin as well. And this not a tragedy.