2005: Armenia's NSS Received Instructions, Political Scientist Claims

Political scientist Armen Vardanyan recently stated on his Facebook page that a former general of the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia made several scandalous remarks during a recent interview. The most noteworthy claim is that in 2005, the NSS was instructed to smoothly facilitate the election of Serzh Sargsyan as the next president of Armenia. The former NSS official also mentioned that the agency was utilized to block potential rivals of Sargsyan.

In a normal, legal state, such statements would become a serious subject of investigation. Either the high-ranking NSS officials involved in this process would face punishment, or the official making such claims would be prosecuted for defamation. However, our authorities remain silent, as if nothing has happened. This represents a classic case of a state being usurped. When a favored candidate of those in power uses one of the most important state institutions to seize control of the government, it raises serious concerns.