Multiple Armenian media outlets reported the resignation orders late on Sunday two days after Pashinian publicly lambasted judicial and law-enforcement bodies, saying that they have failed to end a perceived lack of “justice” in the country during his more than six-year rule.
Pashinian confirmed on Monday morning that he “asked a number of high-ranking officials to leave their positions.”
“The reasons for making such a request are not personal but systemic, which I have spoken about publicly,” he wrote on Facebook. He did not elaborate.
The officials forced out by him include Karen Andreasian, the head of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC), Argishti Kyaramian, the head of the Investigative Committee, Sasun Khachatrian, the chief of the Anti-Corruption Committee (ACC), Interior Minister Vahe Ghazarian, Infrastructure Minister Gnel Sanosian and Rustam Badasian, the head of the State Revenue Committee.
“On the surface, everything is clear, but I do not want to give the underlying reasons,” Andreasian said in a statement confirming his resignation.
Armenia - Karen Andreasian, head of the Supreme Judicial Council, chairs an SJC hearing in Yerevan, June 29, 2023.
The SJC chief, who has been accused by critics of helping Pashinian suppress judicial independence during his two-year tenure, strongly defended his track record. He claimed to have “brought the judicial system out of a shameful crisis.”
The SJC is a nominally independent body tasked with monitoring Armenian courts and protecting them outside interference. Some of Andreasian’s critics said the fact that he was effectively ousted by Pashinian just like the two ministers is further proof that the judicial watchdog is controlled by the prime minister.
Andreasian also noted that “ongoing public demands for justice could not have been met in two years.” In his Friday, diatribe, Pashinian indicated his unhappiness with the slow pace of the trials of former Armenian officials, notably ex-President Robert Kocharian, and asset seizure proceedings launched against them.
Kyaramian, who has been one of Pashinian’s trusted lieutenants, issued a more cryptic statement about “my decision to resign.” He vaguely attributed it to “internal reassessments arising from the situation surrounding recent activities of the general law enforcement system.”
Kyaramian came under fire from pro-government lawmakers last month after clashing with one of them during a parliamentary hearing in Yerevan. The 34-year-old lost his temper after the lawmaker, Hovik Aghazarian, accused the Investigative Committee of trying to bully citizens with unjustified arrests or threats of them. There were unconfirmed reports that Aghazarian is also being forced to step down.
Armenia - Argishti Kyaramian, head of the Investigative Committee, gives a speech in Yerevan, October 11, 2024.
Badasian, the tax and customs chief, and Interior Minister Ghazarian also defended their track records but gave no reasons for their resignations. Ghazarian touted his ministry’s “tremendous achievements,” saying that he and his subordinates “have passed the difficult stage of deep, comprehensive reforms.” By contrast, Pashinian complained on Friday that law-enforcement and judicial reforms announced by him years ago have produced few tangible results.
Ghazarian is a reputed childhood friend of the prime minister, having studied in the same school with the latter in Ijevan, the administrative center of the northern Tavush province. He was the police chief of another Tavush town, Dilijan, when Pashinian swept to power during the 2018 “velvet revolution.” Ghazarian was repeatedly promoted in the following years, becoming the chief of the Armenian police in 2020.
The spate of resignations stoked media speculation that Pashinian is keen to boost his flagging popularity ahead of general elections expected in 2026 or even earlier. Even his decision last week to shave his beard was construed by some commentators as being part of the same effort. Pashinian stopped shaving when he launched his 2018 campaign for regime change.