Wednesday,
Armenian Police Chief Also Sacked
Armenia - The chief of the Armenian police, Valeri Osipian, speaks to
journalists in Yerevan, December 20, 2018.
The chief of the Armenian police, Valeri Osipian, was dismissed on Wednesday
two days after the resignation of the head of Armenia’s National Security
Service (NSS).
President Armen Sarkissian relieved Osipian of his duties in a decree requested
by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Pashinian did not immediately explain the move. He appointed Osipian as his
chief adviser later in the day.
Osipian held a farewell meeting with senior police officers shortly before the
announcement of the presidential decree.
“Mr. Osipian thanked all police officers for their cooperation,” the chief
police spokesman, Ashot Aharonian, told reporters after the meeting. He did not
give reasons for his dismissal, said Aharonian.
In an ensuing written statement, Osipian said he “will talk about the reasons
for my departure later on.” He stressed that he always been guided by the
police “officer’s honor and dignity.”
Armenia -- Police chief Valeri Osipian (L) and National Security Service
director Artur Vanetsian attend a cabinet meeting in Yerevan June 6, 2019.
According to press reports, Osipian decided to step down at the end of
Tuesday’s session of Armenia’s Security Council chaired by Pashinian. Some
media outlets claimed that he angered the prime minister with his reluctance to
order police forces to disperse protesters blocking the roads leading to the
Amulsar gold deposit which is due to be developed by a Western mining company.
Parliament speaker Ararat Mirzoyan and a spokesman for the Security Council
secretary, Armen Grigorian, denied those reports on Wednesday. They insisted
that the council did not discuss Osipian’s future.
The police chief was sacked two days after the resignation of Artur Vanetsian,
the influential NSS director. In a statement, Vanetsian effectively criticized
Pashinian’s leadership style, saying that it runs counter to “the officer’s
honor.” The premier rounded on Vanetsian through his press secretary.
Pashinian has yet to announce who will replace Vanetsian and Osipian.
Armenia -- Opposition leader Nikol Pashinyan talks to Valeri Osipian during a
rally in Yerevan, April 29, 2018.
Pashinian named Osipian to run the national police service in May 2018 two days
after being elected prime minister following weeks of anti-government protests
led by him.
Osipian was until then a deputy head of Yerevan’s police department responsible
for public order and crowd control. He personally monitored many
anti-government rallies staged in the Armenian capital during former President
Serzh Sarkisian’s rule. Osipian frequently warned and argued with Pashinian
during the 2018 “Velvet Revolution” that toppled Sarkisian.
During his tenure Osipian repeatedly claimed to have eliminated corruption in
the police ranks. While not denying this, critics blamed him and the new
authorities as a whole for Armenia’s rising crime rate.
Former Police Chief Indicted
• Naira Bulghadarian
Armenia - Vladimir Gasparian (L), the chief of the Armenian police, argues with
a protester in Yerevan, 26Jun2015.
Vladimir Gasparian, a former chief of the Armenian police, was charged on
Wednesday with abusing his powers to benefit people working for former
President Serzh Sarkisian’s brothers.
The Investigative Committee claimed that Gasparian created fictitious positions
for Levon Sarkisian’s driver and Aleksandr Sarkisian’s two bodyguards when he
headed Armenia’s military police in the 2000s.
The committee said that the three men never reported for work in a military
police unit but received nearly 22 million drams ($46,000) in combined
salaries. Gasparian allowed them to do other “work not stemming from their
status,” it said in a statement.
According to the statement, Gasparian was charged with abuse of power and
“inactivity” that resulted in “severe material consequences” for the state.He
will face between three and seven years in prison if found guilty.
Gasparian, who was not arrested, rejected the accusations as baseless through
his lawyer Tigran Atanesian. In a Facebook post, Atanesian said his client has
refused to answer any questions from investigators.
A spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee, Naira Harutiunian, told RFE/RL’s
Armenian service that despite his strong denial Gasparian has agreed to
transfer 22 million drams to the law-enforcement body later on Wednesday in
payment for the alleged financial damage to the state. Gasparian did not
immediately confirm this.
Gasparian had served as military police chief from 1997-2010 and as deputy
defense minister from 2010-2011. Serzh Sarkisian appointed him as chief of the
national police service in 2011. The police general held that post until the
2018 “Velvet Revolution” that toppled Sarkisian.
Later in 2018 the new authorities in Yerevan brought separate criminal charges
against the ex-president’s brothers. Levon Sarkisian apparently fled Armenia
shortly after the revolution while Aleksandr paid the state as much as $30
million to avoid imprisonment.
“This is the fifth or six criminal case linked to [Gasparian’s] name since his
dismissal,” wrote Atanesian. “Some of these criminal cases were closed during
the investigation phase. We are convinced that this latest case … will be
closed as well.”
In December, the Investigative Committee claimed to have obtained “facts”
suggesting that Gasparian had pledged to help an embattled businessman avoid
bankruptcy in return for his pre-election support for the former ruling
Republican Party of Armenia. But the committee apparently stopped short of
pressing corresponding charges against the former police chief.
Armenian Defense Minister Denies Resignation Talk
• Astghik Bedevian
Armenia -- Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan speaks in Vanadzor, May 21, 2019.
Armenia’s Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan dismissed on Wednesday reports he will
also lose his post following the dismissal of two other senior security
officials.
“No, there is no such thing,” Tonoyan told reporters. He insisted that he has
not discussed his political future with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
Asked whether he has any policy differences with Pashinian, Tonoyan said: “No,
there can’t be any differences.” Armenian government members are working in a
“very synchronized” manner, he added.
Artur Vanetsian, the director of the National Security Service (NSS), hit out
at Pashinian after being forced to resign on Monday. The prime minister
rejected the criticism in equally strong terms.
Tonoyan declined to comment on Vanetsian’s statement. “The former NSS director
is a friend of mine,” he said. “We have cooperated very closely for the past
one and a half years and I will leave it to him to make comments.”
The chief of the Armenian police, Valeri Osipian, was dismissed on Wednesday.
Armenian media reported his impending sacking late on Tuesday. Some media
outlets claimed that Tonoyan will also be sacked.
Echoing statements by other senior officials, the 51-year-old defense minister
denied reports that Armenia’s Security Council discussed Osipian’s resignation
at a meeting on Tuesday chaired by Pashinian.
Pashinian appointed Tonoyan as defense minister after he swept to power during
last year’s “Velvet Revolution.” Tonoyan had served as minister for emergency
situations in former President Serzh Sarkisian’s government since 2016. He had
previously been a deputy defense minister.
Press Review
“Haykakan Zhamanak” says that “for some reason” the resignation of National
Security Service (NSS) Director Artur Vanetsian sparked jubilant reactions from
members of Armenia’s former leadership and their backers. “They were
particularly delighted with the text of [Vanetsian’s] resignation letter,”
writes the pro-government paper. “Those who just months ago regarded Vanetsian
as a blunt instrument in the hands of Nikol Pashinian and spoke about his
family’s businesses and his $50,000 jackets have suddenly begun admiring his
‘dignified stance worthy of an officer.’” It says they were buoyed by
Vanetsian’s implicit calls for an end to high-profile prosecutions of corrupt
former officials. The paper also says that “the main reason for Vanetsian’s
resignation will probably be never known” given the sensitivity of the position
held by him.
“On the one hand, the noisy staff changes can contribute to a consolidation of
the authorities,” writes Lragir.am. “On the other, after getting rid of
individuals linked to the former system they may switch to tougher methods.
Interestingly, Nikol Pashinian hinted to his My Step alliance about the
possibility of snap parliamentary elections this week. That looked more like a
warning addressed to that inactive [parliamentary] faction.”
“Zhoghovurd” says that three lawmakers representing My Step “arrived
unprepared” at a news briefing held in the Armenian parliament on Tuesday. The
paper is unimpressed with their answers to questions asked by reporters. “It
was obvious that the pro-government deputies did not like questions asked by
journalists,” it says.“After that [one of those deputies] Suren Grigorian
decided to rein in the journalists, threatening that ‘we will probably discuss
the wisdom of this format and the need for it.’”
(Lilit Harutiunian)
Reprinted on ANN/Armenian News with permission from RFE/RL
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