FORMER ARMENIAN SECURITY CHIEF DIES
Emil Danielyan
Armenialiberty.org
Sept 7 2009
Armenia — Grigori Sarkisian, former head of the State Protection
Service who died on September 7, 2009.
A once powerful security official who was close to former President
Robert Kocharian and reportedly played a major part in his harsh 2008
crackdown on the Armenian opposition died of a heart attack early
on Monday.
A spokesman for Kocharian told RFE/RL that General Grigori Sarkisian,
the former head of the State Protection Service (SPS), passed away in
his Yerevan home in the early hours of the morning. News reports said
ambulance crews rushed there failed to save the 53-year-old’s life.
A native of Nagorno-Karabakh, Sarkisian headed the agency, responsible
for the personal security of Armenia’s most high-ranking government
officials, from its establishment in early 2004 until May last year. He
had previously been only in charge of Kocharian’s security detail.
Armenia — Grigori Sarkisian, former head of the State Protection
Service, stands behind President Robert Kocharian during an official
ceremony in Yerevan.Sarkisian gained considerable political and
economic clout during Kocharian’s decade-long rule, reportedly becoming
one of the second Armenian president’s most important associates. He
is believed to have been actively involved in the bloody suppression
of anti-government demonstrations staged by Kocharian’s predecessor
Levon Ter-Petrosian in the wake of the disputed presidential election
February 2008. In particular, he was present at the pre-dawn dispersal
on March 1, 2008 of Ter-Petrosian’s tent camp set up in Yerevan’s
Liberty Square.
Ter-Petrosian, whose bodyguards are also officially listed as SPS
employees, refused to leave the square and was forcibly driven home
and placed under de facto house arrest by security officers. The
opposition leader claimed afterwards that the SPS chief personally
twisted his arms and pushed him into his limousine. Sarkisian denied
that, saying that he went to Liberty Square to ensure Ter-Petrosian’s
security and had nothing to do with the violent dispersal of more
than 1,000 opposition supporters camped there.
Ter-Petrosian also said that he negotiated with Kocharian later
on March 1 through Sarkisian. The talks failed to prevent the
more violent late-night clashes between opposition supporters and
security forces which left ten people dead and more than 200 others
injured. Ter-Petrosian’s Armenian National Congress (HAK) regards
Sarkisian as one of the main organizers of the "slaughter."
The SPS chief’s sacking in May 2008 was one of the first major
personnel changes made by Kocharian’s successor Serzh Sarkisian
(no relation to Grigori). The move followed media reports about
mounting friction between Grigori Sarkisian and Vache Ghazarian,
a fellow Karabakh Armenian who has long been responsible for the
current Armenian president’s security.
Kocharian’s bodyguards earned notoriety in September 2001 when they
beat to death a man in a Yerevan café who greeted the then president
in a way which they found offensive. Only one of them was subsequently
prosecuted and given a suspended one-year jail sentence in connection
with the incident.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
