Personnel Changes Underway in the Ministry of Defense: 'Hraparak'

'Hraparak' newspaper reports that Defense Minister Suren Papikyan was involved in an unpleasant incident on his way to Dilijan weeks ago, during which a gas station attendant pointed at him. Following his instructions, police arrived at the scene and detained the young man. The minister later found out that the young man's father is Colonel Hrayr Atoyan, a combat veteran and former commander of the Kelbajar military unit.

Subsequently, a dismissal order was immediately issued against Atoyan, and he was removed from the reserve, with Colonel Vigen Simonian appointed in his place. Simonian notably did not leave his office during the May incidents in Jermuk when Azerbaijani forces were beating soldiers under his command. However, he maintains close ties with the authorities.

According to our sources within the ministry, Papikyan is bringing into the Ministry of Defense and awarding military ranks even to those who were his students in history classes and are far removed from the army and military service. Some of these individuals are also being granted military titles, including the son of Colonel Armen Seyranian. It is noteworthy that Seyranian was among those who signed the demand for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation in 2021. However, since his son studied under Suren Papikyan, the signature was forgiven.

We attempted to obtain comments from the Ministry of Defense spokesperson regarding these factual details, particularly asking for clarification on when and why Hrayr Atoyan was dismissed from service. The spokesperson promised to respond but later requested that our questions be submitted in writing.

For more details, refer to today’s issue of the newspaper.