Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today introduced newly appointed Police Chief Vahe Ghazaryan to senior police staff.

The Premier first thanked outgoing Police Chief Arman Sargsyan for his tenure-long work, noting that together they will analyze the activities carried out during this period and come to common conclusions. Nikol Pashinyan noted that today is a difficult time, and in addition to police activities, the biggest challenge is the coronavirus.

“Over the last three months, the police have done a very hard and uninterrupted job, as a result of which a lot of energy has been spent and perceptions have changed. But the quality of police work is going to be critical in terns of curbing the epidemic. New energy should be brought in the police force, however impossible it may seem. Congratulating Mr. Ghazaryan on his appointment as Chief of Police, I would like to say that his first task is to convey energy to the police and give them new impetus to fight the epidemic or, more precisely, to enforce anti-epidemic rules. We hope and believe that the epidemic is temporary and we will overcome it very soon or a little later.”

Regarding the activities of the Police, the Prime Minister noted that they are essential in terms of law enforcement, human rights and protection of security of property.

“A policeman and the police uniform must create a feeling of respect in each citizen, and this must be very important for each citizen. On the other hand, every time a citizen of the Republic of Armenia sees a person in police uniform, he /she must feel protected, perceive the police as their own, close to then, to which we can address without any doubt in terms of solving its own legal and security concerns. This is the biggest problem we have to solve,” Pashinyan said, noting that the given problem has always been actual in the Third Republic: there is no precise formula for solving it. Sometimes the respect was too much, combined with other negative feelings of fear, sometimes the positive was so much that the feeling of alertness was too weak: “It calls for long-term and consistent work based on knowledge, experience, and Mr. Ghazaryan, your task is to do this work. The Police are a body subordinate to the Prime Minister, and therefore, police activity and its quality are directly linked to the relations between the Head of State and the citizen. The Police of the Republic of Armenia is associated with the largest number of people, and each police officer should see himself as a representative of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, who communicates with the people, citizens, including criminals and delinquents. Criminals should see a cruel, strong and unshakeable hand, while law-abiding citizens - support, resilience, trust and protection. I am convinced that we have the necessary will and perseverance to tackle this problem.”

Referring to his position voiced while taking office as to ensuring stability in the system of law enforcement, Nikol Pashinyan noted that all police officers have the opportunity to take a stand in favor of new realities, values and objectives and it is necessary to understand who has taken advantage of that opportunity.

“I recently recalled a New Testament parable about the time to take stock of what has been done. I would like to say directly that all those who have taken advantage of this opportunity should see that the Armenian Police have completely new principles of professional promotion, appreciation and encouragement. No considerations of kinship or friendship account for here. Performance, professionalism and dedication matter, and all those who have followed this path should be appreciated, while those who have shown contempt for this path should step down and go their own way. They have nothing to do in the police system,” the Prime Minister said, noting that increased efficiency should be the end result for the sake of the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Artsakh, and the future of our nation.

The Prime Minister told the newly appointed police chief to primarily focus on compliance with the anti-epidemic rules and, in this respect, on the rapid and visible improvement in the quality of police services. He stressed the importance of reporting back the results and the problems faced in the exercise of their professional duties.

The outgoing police chief thanked the Prime Minister for trust, noting that the service had been performed with great honor and responsibility. The newly appointed chief of police thanked the Prime Minister for high confidence and assured that he would do his best to accomplish the tasks assigned to the police.