PR Advisers Urge Serzh Sargsyan to Get Rid of Armenia’s Police Chief

A few influential members of RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s entourage have urged him to consider the expediency of making RA Police Chief Vova (Vladimir) Gasparyan (pictured) redundant in the near future, reports local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”), citing its sources.

The paper notes that this issue became an agenda item after the public reaction to Haykakan Jamanak reporter Hayk Gevorgyan’s recent arrest.

Those responsible for the authorities’ PR caution Serzh Sargsyan that the case of Hayk Gevorgyan finally secures Vova Gasparyan with the image of one who fabricates cases, which weakens the position of the country’s leadership in the run-up to the election.

“Serzh Sargsyan, though accepting some of the aforementioned arguments, doesn’t take too well to the idea of sacking Gasparyan since he believes that it could have a negative impact on police ‘combat readiness’. In the opinion of observers, if Vova Gasparyan isn’t sacked in one to two weeks, he will be in office at least until a new parliament is formed,” reports the paper.