Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on June 8 sacked the heads of the Armenian army, police and national security service for having set bad examples over coronavirus restrictions. According to reports, Pashinyan did not elaborate or go into specifics about what lead to the sacking of the heads. However, announcing the sackings on Facebook, he had expressed disappointment with their actions and said that while high-ranking officials have a responsibility to set an example by following anti-epidemic rules, but sometimes the opposite happens.
As per reports, on June 7 the army’s Chief of the General Staff, Artak Davtyan, had held a party to celebrate his son’s wedding. The gathering hosted by Davtyan comes at a time when mass gatherings are banned in Armenia. The announcement reportedly came after the party was reported by a local newspaper. The media house also posted a video online where cars can be seen parked outside the entrance to Davtyan’s house and the sound of music can ve heard in the background.
The chief of police, Arman Sargsyan, or National Security Service chief, Eduard Martirosyan, who were also sacked along with Davtyan were not mentioned in the reports and thus the extent of their violation remains unknown. According to reports, Davtyan has maintained his innocence and claimed that he has not broken any rules, while Arman Sargsyan and Eduard Martirosyan have not yet commented on their dismissals.
Armenia has reported 13,325 positive coronavirus cases and currently has a death toll of 211. As per reports, the county has banned mass gatherings and masks in public places have been made mandatory.
Prime Minister tests positive
Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Armenia reportedly said on June 1 that has tested positive for novel coronavirus while speaking during a Facebook live video. Pashinyan reportedly said that he didn't show any symptoms and decided to get tested as he was planning to visit the military units. He also added that his entire family got infected of COVID-19.
The Prime Minister added that he would be working from home and believes that he most probably caught the virus from a waiter who brought him a glass of water at a meeting without wearing gloves. On June 8 the Prime Minister also revealed that he and his whole family had fortunately recovered from COVID-19.