Garik Sargsyan Dismisses Chief of Staff for Responding One Minute Late

The Governor of Ararat Province, Garik Sargsyan, has faced his seventh lawsuit in court. This time, the revolutionary governor’s decision is being challenged by Arman Dermoyan, who was ultimately dismissed following a scandalous reprimand.

According to 168.am, it was reported earlier that Sargsyan punished the Chief of Staff for responding one minute late to his correspondence, specifically at 18:01. He summoned Dermoyan and stated, 'I don’t want to work with you anymore, leave.'

Dermoyan requested clarification and written justification from the governor to understand the sequence of events leading to his dismissal.

Despite being confronted by the shouting governor, Sargsyan was unable to explain what 'criminal' offense there was in responding to his 'chief' one minute late. It is noteworthy that Dermoyan was the deputy chief of staff, tasked with the duties of the chief due to the intentional vacancy of the position.

This unwarranted reprimand caused a significant uproar in the media, leading to a service investigation against Dermoyan.

Employees at the provincial administration find it laughable that the governor punishes a subordinate for tardiness while failing to arrive at the office before 9:30 AM since his appointment.

With his one-minute penalty, the governor attempts to intimidate his subordinates, oblivious to the fact that the electronic management system known as 'Mulberry' allows civil servants to respond to their superiors' messages within a 24-hour period.

Dermoyan’s first reprimand, according to staff, was orchestrated; following the directive, calls were made to him to create grounds for reprimanding and preparing the ground for the governor's relative. This relative is Lilit Mirzakhanyan, the governor’s maternal aunt's daughter-in-law.

According to media reports, she is believed to have significant influence within the provincial administration, despite holding only an advisory status. The fact is, Lilit Mirzakhanyan is considered a trusted agent of the governor and agreed to come to the provincial government with the prospect of being appointed as chief of staff, even though she lacks sufficient management experience.

Thus, the crocodile-loving governor purposefully kept the position vacant for his relative. Following amendments to the Civil Service Law, two immediate consequences occurred: one, the desired position became accessible to Lilit Mirzakhanyan under the amended criteria, while the other, Governor Garik Sargsyan found grounds to dismiss Dermoyan, allowing him to provide a gift to his relative.

Lilit Mirzakhanyan is now the Chief of Staff of the provincial administration, whereas Arman Dermoyan plans to contest the dismissal order signed by the governor in the General Jurisdiction Court of Ararat and Vayots Dzor. He is demanding the annulment of the dismissal order, reinstatement to his position, and compensation for lost salary due to the unlawful dismissal.

In our conversation, Dermoyan mentioned that despite a service investigation confirming his disciplined work behavior, he was still awaiting the dismissal order following the absurdity of the one-minute delay.

As a pretext, it was claimed that five and a half years of working in the Analytical Department of the RA National Assembly (formerly the Department of Legislative Analysis) is inadequate for the deputy chief of staff position in the provincial administration, rendering the previous appointment by Governor Aramayis Grigoryan illegal.

However, according to Dermoyan, the appointment correspondence was verified and was based on his tenure as a civil servant at the National Assembly.

It’s worth remembering that the governor of Ararat Province, known for advocating crocodile farming, has recently found himself at the center of various scandalous stories. Perhaps the most notable incident was an incompetent statement regarding a 40-hectare drip irrigation system, which Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan labeled as a slip. The next scandal occurred during a pre-election campaign event of the 'Civil Contract' Party, following which a physical altercation between the deputy governor and a driver took place, quickly forgotten after hitting the press and reaching the police.

Another troubling incident involving the governor came from the court cases filed by three dismissed heads of regional medical centers (MCs) and the issue of untransferred final settlements involving M. Taloyan from Vedi Medical Center amounting to 5.6 million drams.