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IS THE DISMISSAL OF THE YEREVAN POLICE CHIEF RELATED TO THE EVENTS OF APRIL 9?
April 17 2013
One day ago, Nerses Nazaryan, Yerevan's chief of police, was dismissed
and Colonel Ashot Karapetyan, the head of the Police General Department
of Criminal Investigation, was appointed to the office instead of
him. The press interpreted the dismissal of the Yerevan police chief
as being related to the events of April 9 and stated that N. Nazaryan
had wanted to take radical steps, because of which Chief of Police
Vova Gasparyan had stood by Raffi Hovhannisyan. As if the dismissal of
the Yerevan police chief was the beginning of reforms in the police
system. However, www.aravot.am found out during a conversation with
human rights advocates that there was no such intention and that
version was groundless. Human rights advocate Artak Zeynalyan said in
this regard: "It is absolutely inessential what versions there are,
whether they correspond to the reality or not. It is important what
the real reason for the dismissal is, whether it is a punishment, what
it is. However, nothing like that has been stated, so what is formally
stated is the reality. His dismissal has nothing to do with the events
of April 9. The reason for the dismissal is not clear to me. If it had
been related to those events, there would have been an investigation,
a decision, by which he would have been held accountable. However,
there is no such thing; therefore, no one has been held accountable
for the events of April 9. And the procedure that exists in the police
doesn't prevent the same attitude and actions in the future in any
way; that is why there should be a criminal investigation." As to
the assumptions that it had been no accident that Vova Gasparyan had
stood by Raffi Hovhannisyan and that N. Nazaryan had been inclined
to take radical steps, Mr. Zeynalyan said: "Those are rumors or just
speculation." Vardan Harutyunyan, a human rights advocate and the
manager of the Rights and Freedom Center, doesn't link N. Nazaryan's
dismissal with April 9 either. He added: "I don't have information as
to who is replaced for what. I don't think that any police official
can take actions on his own. All their actions, plans are elaborated
at 26 Baghramyan Street, and the police just carry them out. They are
all guided by one plan. As to whom they dismiss, it is their own back
room, their explanations and struggles; frankly speaking, I don't even
want to go into it." Let us mention that after our conversation with
human rights advocates, the police released a statement, which stated
regarding Nerses Nazaryan's dismissal: "It is just good business and
is fully in line with the logic of reforms and personnel policy of
the police. It is important for the police to rule out the combination
of service and entrepreneurship, as it were, the merger with certain
social strata, which is unavoidable in case of working in one place
for a long time and has a negative impact on the operational situation
and results of official activities. In this case, our research shows
that the efficiency of the Yerevan city garrison's work has reduced,
which is unacceptable; one should take immediate measures to fix the
situation." Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2013/04/17/153718/
© 1998 - 2013 Aravot - News from Armenia
From: A. Papazian
April 17 2013
One day ago, Nerses Nazaryan, Yerevan's chief of police, was dismissed
and Colonel Ashot Karapetyan, the head of the Police General Department
of Criminal Investigation, was appointed to the office instead of
him. The press interpreted the dismissal of the Yerevan police chief
as being related to the events of April 9 and stated that N. Nazaryan
had wanted to take radical steps, because of which Chief of Police
Vova Gasparyan had stood by Raffi Hovhannisyan. As if the dismissal of
the Yerevan police chief was the beginning of reforms in the police
system. However, www.aravot.am found out during a conversation with
human rights advocates that there was no such intention and that
version was groundless. Human rights advocate Artak Zeynalyan said in
this regard: "It is absolutely inessential what versions there are,
whether they correspond to the reality or not. It is important what
the real reason for the dismissal is, whether it is a punishment, what
it is. However, nothing like that has been stated, so what is formally
stated is the reality. His dismissal has nothing to do with the events
of April 9. The reason for the dismissal is not clear to me. If it had
been related to those events, there would have been an investigation,
a decision, by which he would have been held accountable. However,
there is no such thing; therefore, no one has been held accountable
for the events of April 9. And the procedure that exists in the police
doesn't prevent the same attitude and actions in the future in any
way; that is why there should be a criminal investigation." As to
the assumptions that it had been no accident that Vova Gasparyan had
stood by Raffi Hovhannisyan and that N. Nazaryan had been inclined
to take radical steps, Mr. Zeynalyan said: "Those are rumors or just
speculation." Vardan Harutyunyan, a human rights advocate and the
manager of the Rights and Freedom Center, doesn't link N. Nazaryan's
dismissal with April 9 either. He added: "I don't have information as
to who is replaced for what. I don't think that any police official
can take actions on his own. All their actions, plans are elaborated
at 26 Baghramyan Street, and the police just carry them out. They are
all guided by one plan. As to whom they dismiss, it is their own back
room, their explanations and struggles; frankly speaking, I don't even
want to go into it." Let us mention that after our conversation with
human rights advocates, the police released a statement, which stated
regarding Nerses Nazaryan's dismissal: "It is just good business and
is fully in line with the logic of reforms and personnel policy of
the police. It is important for the police to rule out the combination
of service and entrepreneurship, as it were, the merger with certain
social strata, which is unavoidable in case of working in one place
for a long time and has a negative impact on the operational situation
and results of official activities. In this case, our research shows
that the efficiency of the Yerevan city garrison's work has reduced,
which is unacceptable; one should take immediate measures to fix the
situation." Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
Read more at: http://en.aravot.am/2013/04/17/153718/
© 1998 - 2013 Aravot - News from Armenia
From: A. Papazian