Customs Employees Will 'Respond' for Their Letter: 'Hraparak'

'Hraparak' newspaper writes that on May 27, we published a letter from more than fifty employees of the State Revenue Committee's customs sector, who demanded clarification, denial, and an apology from the head of the State Revenue Committee, Rustam Badassian, considering that he had slandered them during an interview with 'Hraparak.' In the interview, Badassian stated that there are still corrupt practices in customs terminals, manifested in forms of 'gratitude' amounting to 5,000 to 10,000 drams.

After receiving the letter, we were informed by the SRC that Rustam Badassian was on vacation and would respond to the letter upon his return, should he find it necessary. However, there has been no response from him. Instead, the SRC's deputy head, Shushan Nersisyan, was dismissed, who had long been in conflict with Rustam Badassian. Furthermore, it was revealed that just days before Nersisyan's dismissal, around ten employees who had signed the letter were also relieved of their duties.

We sent a written inquiry to the SRC's press service, asking whether the SRC president was aware of the letter, whether he had responded to it, what commentary he had regarding it, and when and how he planned to respond. The SRC responded yesterday, stating that a service investigation has been initiated regarding the incident, and a comprehensive review of all circumstances will provide an assessment in relation to the apparent violations of the Law on Customs Service of the Republic of Armenia and other legal acts.

This implies that customs officers who wrote the letter are still expected to answer for their letter, rather than the SRC president being required to answer for his statements. We were also curious whether there had been any additional dismissals from the SRC, particularly from the customs sector, since the publication of the letter and the dismissal of Deputy Head Shushan Nersisyan, and on what grounds. Have there been new appointments made to their positions? The SRC informed us that since Shushan Nersisyan's dismissal from the deputy head position on June 8 until now, five customs service officials, one discretionary position holder, and one service role employee have been dismissed based on personal applications.

As for the question of when the vacant deputy head position will be filled after Nersisyan's departure, and whether there are already potential candidates for this position, the SRC gave an unclear response: 'The management of the SRC is carried out based on the strategic goals and objectives set before the body according to the SRC strategy; therefore, the selection of a management model should stem from the strategy and reform agenda. Naturally, the public will be informed whenever any process is initiated in this regard.'