Sahakyan, a deputy leader of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), said about the arrest of Vazgen Khachikyan, a former head of the state social security service, that there were other accused in the case, “There are many other people, the case is not closed.”
However, he didn’t go into detail whether other former heads of the field would be arrested in the short-run or not. He just said that he was sorry for Khachikyan, “People who commit crimes must be held accountable. I am very sorry for Khachikyan, because he is a guy with a
rather serious biography. I don’t think that my friends or relatives may have another opinion psychologically. But everyone must bear the responsibility for his actions.”
In response to our question whether the abuses were committed by the service headed by Khachikyan alone, since it was under the Ministry of Social Affairs, Mr. Sahakyan said, “It is possible that the Minister of Social Affairs didn’t know anything, it is possible that he knew, what suspicious questions you ask and try to get answers.”
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He also commented on the news about Khachikyan’s arrest that it was a pre-election show or political bargaining, “Our thoughts have become instruments of bargaining. If it had been after the election, there would have been rumors again that they had waited till the election was over and then did it. If it had been one year after the election, they would have talked, anyway. I am not to blame that there are skeptics. People had better become more serious and live a real life. People who commit crimes must be held accountable. What does the political stage have to do with that? A crime is not a subject of a discussion on the political stag, it is a legal issue and one shouldn’t make any political assessments.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
