It Is No Coincidence That the Author Is the Prime Minister's Office, Not the NSS: Gegham Manukyan on the Initiative to Change National Security Officer Day

The MP from the "Hayastan" faction, Gegham Manukyan, has addressed the government's new decision on his Facebook page, which states that National Security Officer Day in Armenia will now be celebrated on January 8 instead of December 20. He wrote, "Today, information spread widely that the government has initiated a legislative change proposing to move the day of representatives of the security agencies of the RA from the previously observed December 20 to January 8. This idea had been discussed years ago, and there were even professional justifications to select another day instead of the 'Soviet Chekist' day to mark the day of the Armenian intelligence officer. However, it turns out that during this tense period, the government's pain and anguish revolved solely around changing the professional day. Everyone writes that the government is abandoning December 20, claiming it is the Chekist day, without even elaborating on why January 8 was chosen.

It turns out that the reason for suggesting this day was a legislative package ratified by the president in 2024, which included changes regarding the formation of the leadership of security bodies. There are no substantial changes, but rather more precise appointments of civilians in the NSS, which allegedly is a cornerstone for these authorities. This is not good; they could have made January 8 the day of the National Security Agency's workers named after Pashinyan. It is no coincidence that the initiator of this proposal is the Prime Minister's Office, not the NSS. By this logic, they might as well make June 1—the Prime Minister's birthday—the day of the Republic's foundation.

When the issue arises in the Defense Committee of the National Assembly, I will elaborate in detail on the absurdity of this proposal. For now, I can only add that this matter has been discussed for years, and there was a professional justification that the founding day of our Republic’s security bodies should logically be considered from the time of the First Republic of Armenia, when still, '... on August 13, 1918, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Armenia hears an application from the Ministry of Defense regarding the allocation of funds to cover (among other directions)... expenditures on intelligence...'. Hundreds of pages of evidence and justifications from esteemed scholars will eventually be presented in the committee, aiming to demonstrate that this initiative, ostensibly pursuing geopolitical motives, is unfounded and lacks a national-state basis," the MP wrote.