Hakob Simidian's Wife Appointed Deputy Head of Department in the Ministry

According to the "Zhoghovurd" newspaper, despite the fact that the new Armenian government had always criticized the practice of appointing relatives and acquaintances during the years of opposition rhetoric, such phenomena are present and continue in the new Armenia. Even Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan once stated regarding the employment of relatives, "There is a law on 'Civil Service', and we will do everything to ensure that no government comes and places its own cronies into the state administration system. The question now is: has this promise been fulfilled? Yes, it has been fully, 100 percent fulfilled." However, just like in many other issues, Nikol Pashinyan's statement and the Armenian reality are significantly different.

The most recent example we can point to is the case of MP Hakob Simidian from the "My Step" faction. Specifically, Simidian's wife, Anahit Sargsyan, has recently started working as the Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of High-Tech Industry. If she weren't Simidian's wife, would she have been appointed to this position?

To find the answer to this question, "Zhoghovurd" contacted Anahit Sargsyan's mother, former MP Lyudmila Sargsyan, who confirmed our information, stating, "There is nothing there; she has passed the exam and been accepted; my daughter is very educated and is now working."

During the revolutionary government that rejected relatives and acquaintances, the wife of Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan, Mane Minasyan, works in the RA Court of Accounts as a press secretary. MP Arman Boshyan's wife, Anushik Avetyan, is an assistant to Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan. The husband of MP Hripsime Grigoryan is the adviser to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Davit Karapetyan. Another MP, Hamazasp Danielyan's wife, is a member of the Yerevan City Council. Meanwhile, the husband of the Vice-Speaker of the National Assembly, Lena Nazaryan, Narik Babayan, held the position of Head of the State Property Management Department until yesterday.

Moreover, while rejecting cronies, Nikol Pashinyan appointed leaders of law enforcement agencies who were his classmates and compatriots: the head of the RA Police is Vahe Ghazaryan from Ijevan, the head of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Territorial Administration, Local Self-Government, Agriculture, and Environmental Protection is Pashinyan’s childhood friend Vahe Galoumyan, and the acting mayor of Ijevan is Hayk Galoumyan, who was the godfather at Pashinyan's wedding. The list certainly goes on, and we will address it in the near future.

In the meantime, it is noteworthy that by rejecting the old ways, the revolutionary government is moving forward with the very old, rejected mentality, embedding cronies into the state system.

More details in today’s issue.