1- Armenia Needs Better Counterintelligence
To Deter Foreign and Domestic Spies
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
2- February 13 earthquake in Armenia strongest after 1988,
followed by 165 aftershocks
3- NSS detects, neutralizes spy network operating in Armenia
4- Damages caused to Armenia, Armenians by 2020 war in Artsakh
estimated at $38 billion
5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
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1- Armenia Needs Better Counterintelligence
To Deter Foreign and Domestic Spies
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com
Last week, we were all shocked by the news that Armenia’s National
Security Service (NSS) arrested 19 members of the Armenian military on
spying charges for Azerbaijan.
The NSS accused the arrested 19 Armenian soldiers of having
transferred classified military secrets to Azerbaijan in return for
money. The NSS explained that Azerbaijani agents had contacted the
Armenian soldiers by setting up fake Facebook pages with photos of
attractive females who communicated in the Armenian language. There
are plenty of Azeris who speak fluent Armenian since they were born in
Armenia and attended Armenian schools before they fled to Azerbaijan
after the civil unrest over Artsakh in the late 1980’s.
There are several serious security issues that the Armenian government
should pay immediate attention to and take special measures to
minimize the repetition of such spying cases. But even with improved
counterintelligence, such problems may not be eliminated, but simply
minimized, since almost all countries fall victim to foreign and
domestic spies.
Here are my thoughts and suggestions:
1) The Armenian government should take immediate steps to appoint
competent experts who know how to run an intelligent service. This
suggestion is made because Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has
appointed to almost all positions inexperienced and incompetent
officials purely based on their membership in his ruling party. The
most recent example of incompetence was the surprising announcement by
the NSS that they learned from reading a newspaper article that the
President of Armenia is a dual citizen which is a violation of
Armenian law. Imagine Armenia’s intelligence services learning about
such a critical issue from a newspaper after the President was in
office for four years, instead of being the first to uncover it.
2) The National Security Service, besides needing expert personnel,
must also have the most advanced counterintelligence technology.
3) The Armenian government must consult with ally governments on how
to improve the training, organization and activities of its
intelligence services.
4) The 19 Armenians who were arrested for spying are accused of
transferring to Azerbaijan secret information about Armenia’s military
personnel, weapons and military facilities. It remains to be seen if
they will be found guilty in a court of law since there have been many
Armenian officials arrested in the past four years for committing
various offenses, but were not convicted.
5) How can the Armenian military allow its soldiers to have Facebook
pages since everyone knows that they are vulnerable to hackers and can
be co-opted by outsiders?
6) Where was the oversight by Armenia’s intelligent services as the
compromised soldiers were transmitting national secrets to the enemy?
It would have been best to prevent the transfer of such secrets before
they happen, not after the damage is done.
7) It is highly concerning that such a large number of soldiers of
various ranks were arrested. The NSS announced that a total of 24
soldiers were involved in these spying activities which means that
there are several other suspects who have not been arrested either due
to a lack of evidence or because their identities and locations are
unknown. We also do not know how long this spy network has been
operating before their arrest.
8) Even if the remaining members of this spy network are arrested and
charged, it does not mean that the 24 suspects are the only ones
involved in this spying Network. There may be dozens or hundreds of
others whose identities and activities are unknown. As opposed to
Armenia, Azerbaijan seems to have a highly competent and experienced
cadre of agents who know what they are doing. They are most probably
trained and aided by the highly skilled Turkish intelligence services,
the MIT (National Intelligence Organization).
9) One serious aspect of this spying scandal is that some of the
arrestees reportedly sold national secrets for a few hundred dollars.
There must be something seriously wrong in Armenia’s educational
system if an Armenian, born, raised, educated, and serving in the
military, is willing to betray his nation to the enemy for a handful
of dollars. It is highly concerning that there seems to be a lack of
national pride and patriotic sentiments among some Armenians,
particularly soldiers.
10) This is not the first time that spies have been arrested in
Armenia. There have been several cases of Armenians spying for Turkey
in the past 30 years. Some of them were Armenian government officials.
11) Azerbaijan announced in the past the arrest of a number of
Armenians and Azeris who had allegedly spied for Armenia. It is not
known if they were really spies or not.
12) I fear that the spying problems in Armenia will get much worse
with the contemplated opening of the border with Turkey and
Azerbaijan. This will allow many more Azeri and Turkish spies to enter
Armenia via air and land as tourists or business people.
13) In addition to actual spies, Azerbaijan and Turkey will collect
valuable information about Armenia by debriefing their citizens after
their return from Armenia. Of course, spying is not limited to these
two countries, as other states are also engaged in gathering
intelligence on Armenia.
14) There have been several cases where Armenians, who have immigrated
to Turkey in recent years due to lack of jobs at home, have been
approached by Turkish intelligence to gather information on Armenia
upon their return home for which they were handsomely compensated.
In conclusion, antagonistic actions are carried out not only during
the war, but also at peacetime by recruiting domestic and foreign
agents. The Armenian government must approach this problem very
seriously and allocate the necessary resources and personnel to
counter such intelligence gathering activities.
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2- February 13 earthquake in Armenia strongest after 1988,
followed by 165 aftershocks
(Public Radio of Armenia)—The earthquake registered in Armenia on
February 13 was the strongest after the 1988 Spitak earthquake, Head
of the Regional Survey for Seismic Protection Sos Margaryan told a
press conference.
He said the 5.2 magnitude quake was followed by 165 aftershocks, the
strongest of which had a magnitude of 3.
According to Margaryan, aftershocks are typical of such earthquakes.
He reminded that in August 2021, an earthquake at the same epicenter
was followed by 69 aftershocks within a day, with the number reaching
223 on the 40th day.
He said the Sunday earthquake on the Armenian-Georgian border is
considered moderately strong, and could be followed by more
aftershocks.
Magnitude 5.2 earthquake hit 16 km northeast of the village of Bavra
near the Armenian-Georgian border on Sunday, February 13.
The quake was registered at 22:25 local time (18:25 Greenwich time)
and was felt across Armenia.
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3- NSS detects, neutralizes spy network operating in Armenia
YEREVAN—The National Security Service (NSS) obtained evidence of a spy
network in Armenia by foreign special services, and the conduct of
inimical activities to the detriment of Armenia’s sovereignty,
territorial integrity, and external security. People serving in the
Armenian Armed Forces were included in this spy network. In exchange
for remuneration, individuals were offered to collaborate with the
aforesaid foreign special services, and provide information related to
the Armenian military.
The persons included about two dozen Armenian citizens in this spy
network. During the investigation, 19 people were detained on
suspicion of high treason, and some of them have confessed.
According to the NSS, recruitment took place via an online dating
service through which Armenian servicemen who possessed classified
data and documents would eventually join the spy ring. Once part of
the operation, the servicemen would receive payments for sending the
secret data to foreign intelligence services from mobile devices.
The statement said that investigators conducted more than 30 searches,
confiscated documents and other items that led to the launching of the
probe and that the spy ring's activities have been "disrupted."
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4- Damages caused to Armenia, Armenians by 2020 war in Artsakh
estimated at $38 billion
YEREVAN (Arka)—By 2020, Artsakh was one of the drivers of Armenia’s
economy, economist at the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan Hrant
Mikayelyan said when speaking in the podcast of the Novosti-Armenia
telegram channel.
According to him, the consequences of the war in Artsakh in the fall
of 2020 and the loss of part of the Artsakh territory have had a
negative impact on the state of Armenia’s economy.
“Due to the defeat in the war, we lost 26% of the wheat crop area, 14
mines, 30 hydro plants and so on. By 2020 Artsakh had already become
the driver of the economy of Armenia, that is, for 30 years Armenia,
the Diaspora and the Artsakh people invested in Artsakh,” said
Mikayelyan.
According to him, in 2019, on average, Artsakh overtook the Republic
of Armenia in terms of economic development and even began to ferry
electricity back to Armenia (now it is no longer so), thanks to the
development of cultivated areas it was instrumental in solving food
security issues in Armenia.
Earlier it was reported that in 2022, the Armenian government will
provide budgetary support to Artsakh in the amount of about 144
billion drams (about $300 million). In 2021 the figure exceeded AMD
100bln.
In January 2021, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Military
Insurance Fund Mesrop Manukyan presented some calculations, according
to which, as a result of the defeat in the 44-day war in autumn 2020,
Armenia and the Armenian people suffered damages worth of at least
$38.4bln.
Particularly, according to his assessments, only the human losses (the
dead, disabled and physically healthy but already incapacitated
members of society) are estimated at $7 billion. The damage to the
defense system is about $2 billion and due to the loss of part of Sotk
gold deposit -about $8 billion. The cost of the lost HPP in Artsakh is
about $600 million.
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5- Armenia Continues Fight Against COVID-19
Armenia continues the fight against COVID-19, as the country continues
promoting the vaccination phase. Armenia's Ministry of Health
announced on January 11 new restrictions to curb the fast spreading of
the Covid-19 pandemic in the country. From January 22, people above 18
must present either a vaccination certificate or a negative recent
test result prior to entering restaurants, hotels, cinemas and other
similar venues. As of January 30, 842,212 people have been fully
inoculated against COVID-19, or approximately 28-percent of the
population. About 64-percent of the population, or 1,883,413 people,
has received at least one dose of the vaccine. The highest rate of
inoculation is among people between the ages of 35-60. Only 18 to
19-percent of citizens over the age of 65 have received two doses of
the vaccine. The vaccination mandate for employees might be
responsible for the age disparity in vaccination rates. Since October,
employees have been required to provide proof of vaccination or a
negative PCR test every 14 days to their employer. Employees who
choose not to get inoculated against the coronavirus must take tests
at their own expense. A PCR test in Armenia costs roughly 10,000 drams
(about $20).
The MoH also instituted a coronavirus “green pass” in January to enter
cultural and entertainment venues. As of January 22, people can only
enter restaurants, hotels, gyms, libraries, museums, theaters, cinemas
and other cultural sites if they present proof of vaccination, a
negative PCR test from the previous 72 hours or an antibody test from
the previous 24 hours. The mandate, which was announced on January 9,
excludes children under the age of 18, pregnant women, people who
cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons and people who have been
previously infected with the coronavirus.
The U.S. State Department on July 26 warned American citizens to
reconsider travel to Armenia due to the increase in cases of the
Covid-19. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has
issued a Level 3 Travel Health Notice for Armenia due to COVID-19,
indicating a high level of COVID-19 in the country.” The State
Department also urged U.S. citizens not to travel to the
Nagorno-Karabakh region due to armed conflict. “The U.S. government is
unable to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in
Nagorno-Karabakh as U.S. government employees are restricted from
traveling there,” the State Department added.
The Armenian government last week made changes in the COVID-19
response measures, shortening the recommended self-isolation time from
14 days to 7 days for vaccinated people and 10 days for unvaccinated
people starting the day of an administered PCR test. The
self-isolation period for the unvaccinated can be shortened down to 7
days in case of producing a negative PCR test result. The Armenian
government cited the policies of the United States CDC and a number of
European countries. The government changed airport regulations,
allowing visitors to enter the arrival hall by maintaining safety
guidelines. The decision took effect February 1. Armenian health
authorities recorded a peak number of positive COVID-19 cases on
February 2.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) of Armenia reported 3,956 new cases on
Wednesday, the highest number of positive cases registered in one day
since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Coronavirus cases have
been steadily increasing in Armenia since mid-January.
There were 23,276 active COVID-19 cases in Armenia as of February 14.
Armenia has recorded 407,074 coronavirus cases and 8,186 deaths;
375,612 have recovered.
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