Arsen Torosyan Targets People In Secret from the Prime Minister, Entire Institution Hasn't Received Salaries

The working atmosphere at the "Center for Public Relations and Information" under the Prime Minister's Office of Armenia is increasingly tense. On January 18, 2021, following the decision of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to appoint former Minister of Health Arsen Torosyan as the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, arbitrary decisions began to be made across various sectors. We will address these issues one by one.

The daily newspaper has received alerts from employees of this so-called “fake news agency” that their salaries have been delayed. These delays are being attributed by the employees of the state non-commercial organization to Arsen Torosyan, who has allegedly given instructions for unjustified dismissals and demanded the closure of entire departments. Recently, nearly everyone at the agency has been working under tense conditions, as the hasty and personal instructions are already exhausting everyone.

Anyone who is not favored by Torosyan is immediately recommended for dismissal. According to the information obtained by the newspaper, Torosyan is particularly dissatisfied with one of the two main operational directions of the agency – the analytical department. It has been reported to us that Torosyan, known for his conflict-prone character (the media has written extensively about this), targets individuals and instructs to label and discredit them online using “fake” accounts and obscure “fake” websites under the influence of the agency.

Although he often does this in the name of the Prime Minister, even Lili Minasyan, director of the agency, has managed to clarify with the Prime Minister regarding several individuals that he was not aware of Torosyan's independent actions. In a nutshell, Torosyan has given himself free rein. It will be interesting to see how far he goes, as there was another official in the Prime Minister's circle who exhibited similar behavior and was dismissed in a scandal.