The former ambassador of Armenia to Vatican City, Mikayel Minasyan, had published a document according to which the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan, is Turkey’s agent. In an interview with Azatutyun Radio, Ararat Mirzoyan confirmed that he signed that document, saying that the NSS had appealed to him as a post-graduate student-researcher of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute, and he, as a patriot, expressed readiness to support the National Security Service.
The director of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor Office, Artur Sakunts, spoke about this with Aravot Daily. He said, “I would like to know what happened after the situation that took place that the person agreed to. That is, what was the result of that cooperation? How was it expressed, what were the results? But I would not like to approach the issue in a fragmented way because we have always been in favor of lustration. Because the National Security Service, as the legal successor of the Soviet KGB, has not been reformed. In fact, it has functioned and it continues to follow the traditions and principles of the Soviet KGB. It has been used as an uncontrollable tool to persecute political opposition and civil activists.
In that sense, it is interesting whether or not Ararat Mirzoyan, as a person who gave his consent, supported the political persecution or participated in such issues. But it is not appropriate to separate only him from the whole pile and thus close the issue. We have always been in favor of a complete lustration to uncover all the mechanisms, all the tools, and all the people who participated, whether they were NSS employees or NSS collaborators, in political persecution, corruption deals, and actions against the state. Moreover, it was this revelation or lustration that would allow clearing the political field, not one-sidedly. I understand that now it is the government, it is targeted. But whether the opposition or the authorities, the civil society sector, or how many such agents there are, only Ararat Mirzoyan is the worst? Now at least two leaders of the I Have Honor alliance have been the head of the NSS. Who will do their lustration?”
Artur Sakunts emphasized that a law should be adopted according to which all the documents that have the status of secrecy, in which the use of political opposition, civil activists, journalists, lawyers, judges for political persecution is registered, should be published. “Limiting oneself to individuals is the biggest disgrace, which aims to ignore or forget the more serious systemic problems related to that service.”
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Ami Chichakyan
