Ombudsman of Armenia appealed to Commission for Prevention of  Corruption, in connection with statements Security Council Secretary  addressed to him

ArmInfo.Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan appealed to the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption in connection with the statements of Security Council  Secretary Armen Grigoryan in his address. Ombudsman of Armenia Arman  Tatoyan stated this at a press conference in Yerevan on November 3.

Thus, when asked to comment on the criticism of the RA Security  Council Secretary in his address regarding statements about the  situation at the border, accusing him of being politicized and noting  that the country's authorities will appoint their candidates for the  HRD in a few months, Tatoyan stressed that the above-mentioned  official exceeded his official powers. "Who gave him the right to  discuss the issue of replacing the Human Rights Defender? These are  obvious attacks against the independent office of the Human Rights  Defender, and by a high-ranking official of the executive body," the  Ombudsman said, adding that he had appealed to the Commission for the  Prevention of Corruption in order to attract of the RA Security  Council Secretary to responsibility for the statements he made and to  ensure the uninterrupted activity of the HRD of Armenia in the  future.  At the same time, Tatoyan added that the study of the  statements of the aforementioned person testifies to the fact that RA  citizens often confuse the RA Security Council with the National  Security Service (NSS).  "Meanwhile, the RA Security Council should  not be confused with the NSS in any way. The NSS is one of the key  important services of our country, which carries out an important  mission these days. The border troops provide protection to the  population of the country, as well as deal with a number of other  important issues, including those related to prisoners of war, and  the actions of this person have nothing to do with security, "Tatoyan  said.

At the same time, the RA HRD noted that in other circumstances he  would not pay attention to the attacks of this official, however, in  view of the fact that today there is consistent work to discredit his  activities, he will touch on several issues.

"In the statements of this official, two theses are voiced - that I  am absolutely not impartial and I make political statements. This is  generally funny, because a few days before that the Venice Commission  adopted the strongest report on the activities of the Ombudsman of  Armenia, and emphasizes the leading role of the HRD in promoting  democratic values and human rights in the country," Tatoyan said.

Referring to the accusations regarding the bias of the HRD, Tatoyan  recalled his activities back in 2018, during the spring trials in the  country. He also reminded Grigoryan how at 3 am he visited him in the  pre- trial detention center, where he was taken, and other persons  who today are high-ranking officials. "That is, then I was not  biased, but now I'm biased," the Ombudsman asked.

At the same time, Tatoyan stressed that both until 2018 and today the  office of the RA Ombudsman is facing the same problems in working  with officials, and usually accusations against the HRd are heard  from those who commit the most gross violations.

"As for the accusations that my statements are politicized, how many  times have I said that I am not involved in politics. Enough, there  is no need to demonstrate your fears," Tatoyan said.  Referring to  the accusations on the situation at the border, the Ombudsman once  again emphasized that processes at the front line cannot be  considered separately from human rights, it cannot all be  accommodated in a military-political niche. "There, we make our  country a victim of geopolitical games. It is clear that this is the  most advantageous situation for the Azerbaijani side, when the legal  part is separated and only the military-political component remains.   The impression is that we are engaged in "chopping and stitching",  "the Ombudsman was indignant, also expressing dissatisfaction with  the inaction of the authorities in international, including human  rights organizations.  

"Azerbaijanis steal cattle from our citizens.  Meanwhile, at the  level of the heads of communities, at the behest, my statements that  they were stolen are refuted. This is how, you understand, a person  suffered damage as a result of this in the amount of 6 million drams.  This is for us in the future. We need this in the future to get a  refund, and what are they doing? Has the Secretary of the Security  Council ever been to border villages, saw the situation in which our  citizens found themselves? I also declare with full responsibility  that this person is one of the main responsible for the situation  that Azerbaijanis have caused on our roads, "the RA Ombudsman said,  stressing once again that he will continue to fulfill his direct  obligations to protect the rights of RA citizens.