The officers of the Foreign Security Service in Armenia may act only with the knowledge of state bodies within the framework of the law. Artur Sakunts, a human rights activist and head of the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office, expressed such an opinion in a conversation with Aravot.
The human rights activist noted why in 2020, after the investigation published by the Russian “Dossier” center, according to which Russia has agents in almost all state structures of Armenia, no criminal case was initiated in the RA NSS. “When they are formally speaking and do not collect information about our security, or do not take action that can be considered a threat to national security, we must record from that point of view, or no investigation has been carried out into the agent network published by the Dossier Center, or it must be assumed that the members of the alleged network of agents represented by the Dossier Center in the Republic of Armenia did not pose a threat to national security, but that an investigation had to be conducted to refute it.
Or it is considered that the counter-intelligence or intelligence agency of the Russian security services is not considered a threat to national security. In any case, the fact that the then head of the National Security Service, Argishti Kyaramyan, stated that the publication reported a crime and that legal action would be taken, but that he is no longer the head of the National Security Service, means that his statement was worth at least his job. It also means that the NSS is in the system of the Russian NSS and, as mentioned in the Dossier Center, is considered their branch. That in itself cannot but be a threat. Because you do not serve the security issues of your state, but you serve the security state interests of another state, while we have many facts that the state interests of that state do not coincide with the national interests of the Republic of Armenia. In the presence of these facts, what we can conclude is that the NSS lustration must be carried out immediately, all the employees who will be the representatives of the FSB branch, to whom we pay, but who serve the national security of another state, must be dismissed. We need to have a lustration service that can take action to identify that network of agents.”
Referring to the episode of the Dossier Center’s investigation that after the Velvet Revolution of 2018, special attention is paid to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who was given the name “Beard” by the structure, the human rights activist said that he is convinced that the agency network operated until the 2018 revolution. “The period just after the revolution received special attention because they were worried about the democratization process that started with the Velvet Revolution, that the lustration I was saying might take place, that the Armenian NSS could be reformed so that it would no longer be considered a local FSB branch. In my opinion, it is due to that, and before that they were not worried, because there was no reason to worry.”
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As for giving a special name to Nikol Pashinyan in the structure, Artur Sakunts said that they can give some names and target people. “Do you think we human rights activists are not targeted? So, before that they did not target those in chemical contact, it made no sense.”
Arpine SIMONYAN
