Did you close streets during Vano Siradeghyan’s tenure, did you impede traffic with an escort, terrify pedestrians with horns, when Vano Siradeghyan went somewhere? In response to this question of www.aravot.am, Suren Sirunyan, the former chief of his security said, “At that time, there were no such things. There were just flashers, which we put on the cars, that’s all. We always accompanied Vano in two cars, at most, sometimes, in one.”
In response to our observation that there were people who had seen what a huge escort had accompanied Suren Khachatryan, the governor of Syunik, to the National Assembly, it had closed whole Demirchyan Street, in 12 cars, Suren Sirunyan said, “Perhaps, Suren Khachatryan wants to show his friends’ cars in Yerevan or his friends want to show that Suren Khchatryan has a lot of friends. Otherwise, it is pointless.”
We inquired whether he would like to be someone’s bodyguard today, if he was offered a high salary, he assured that he had received many offers, “How do you think it will be after working for Vano Siradeghyan? I have received a lot of offers. I cannot say from whom. I was offered a job in the state apparatus in 2000, also after that there have been offers to work for different people as a bodyguard, a chief of security, but I refused, because if there had been a man after Vano Siradeghyan, if I had felt that this man was bigger than Vano Siradeghyan, perhaps I would have agreed.”
According to S. Sirunyan, it doesn’t matter that Vano Siradeghyan is not around now and he has no job, “I would never try to turn the work he has done into nothing.”
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In response to our question whether there had been a case at the time, when he was the chief of Vano Siradeghyan’s security, that someone would like to approach his boss and he would pinion him and put him in the car, he said, “Perhaps, it is hard to believe, but no.
There were many cases of defending him. There is a story about Vano Siradeghyan – when one of Yerevan underworld leaders was arrested, we received a letter that if that person had not been released, they would have kidnapped Vano Siradeghyan’s son. We received that unequivocal letter; they gave the letter to me. Since one of the sons was by my side, we first of all tried to guarantee the security of the other one immediately, then I reported to Vano Siradehyan. After reading the letter, he just laughed, dropped the letter and didn’t treat it seriously. Only after 15 minutes had passed, he said to me that two of us only – the other guys would stay at the office – would go to such-and-such place. It was the place where the given underworld leader lived and we knew that the road to that place was closed. I am talking about the beginning of 1995. We went there, there were 300 people there; they had closed the street. Only Vano Siradeghyan and I went. When we got to the place, only 12 people out of 300 stayed there. Eventually, they asked Vano Siradeghyan to meet them halfway, in order that this underworld leader got as mild a punishment as possible. Not to release him, but to impose a mild punishment. They confiscated two guns from that person.”
Suren Sirunyan told that story to show how selflessly bodyguards should really work.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
Photo by German AVAGYAN
