Yesterday, the Armenian government’s secret document entitled ‘The Transformation Strategy of Armenia until 2050’ was published by one of the famous Azerbaijani websites. Approved on July 26 this year, the preliminary report, intended for an expert consultation, is listed as “confidential”. Indeed, no one had published this report before the Azerbaijani site Haqqin.az, no discussions had been held on it, and the fact that the Azerbaijani media got access to it before the Armenian is nonsense.
Official Yerevan has not commented on the situation yet, as if not noticing what is happening. And this silence describes the negligent attitude of Pashinyan’s government towards confidential workflow more eloquently than any words.
Meanwhile, the publication of a classified Armenian document by the Azerbaijani media is a symptom of a systemic problem, the root of which lies in the post-revolutionary confusion prevailing in Armenia and personnel policy based on the loyalty principles.
For example, in June 2018, the wiretap of a conversation between the head of the National Security Service of Armenia Artur Vanetsyan and the head of the Special Investigation Service Sasun Khacharyan leaked. Two security officials discussed who should be “imprisoned” and what judge to pressure. Vanetsyan himself, by the way, admitted that he was “ashamed” that his conversations were bugged. The embarrassing remorse of wiretapped special services head Vanetsyan was appreciated by the leadership - he was not resigned. So far, the investigation of this incident has not led to any result, and apart from the Republicans’ camp, no one is interested in its further fate. For Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, political loyalty is more important than professionalism. And Arthur Vanetsyan’s tasks are somewhat different - to find dirt and put another Republican in prison instead of ensuring the information security of the country.
The revelatory article of the BBC News Russian service published on August 7 - Who shot the demonstrators in Yerevan in 2008? - points to numerous leaks in the confidential governmental workflow. The investigation pointed to a detachment from Karabakh. Referring to confidential documents of the Special Investigation Committee (headed by Sasun Khachatryan, whose conversation with Arthur Vanetsyan was taped), the article points out that Major General Samvel Karapetyan (Oganovsky) commanded the execution of demonstrators in Yerevan in March 2008, and the security forces brought from Nagorno-Karabakh opened fire on them. As in the case of wiretapping - zero conclusions and reaction from the authorities. Despite public demands, the Special Investigation Service did not even comment on the leak, not to mention the investigation.
And now, the Azerbaijani (!) site publishes a confidential document of the Armenian government, analyzes and ridicules it, and there is a traditional response from the Armenian authorities - silence. It seems that the leaky information security system is already becoming new normal in ‘new’ Armenia.
