Does PM Pashinyan really need an Armenian Foreign Intelligence Service?
In December 2022, The Armenian National Assembly (NA) approved the creation of Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS). The enacted legislation clearly reflected the goal to separate the new institution from the confines of the National Security Service of Armenia (NSS), and to make it directly accountable to The Office of The Prime Minister of Armenia.
In October 2023, PM Pashinyan appointed Ms. Kristine Grigorian, to the sensitive position of heading Armenia’s FIS. To many observers and experts with a good understanding of the structure of the NSS, and the mediocre contributions it made to safeguarding the “nationl interests" of Armenia since 2018, it was obvious that PM Pashinyan was heading down a rabbit hole, a move that could seriously hamper efforts to protect the “national interests” of Armenia instead of making Armenia reasonably immune to external threats.
Coincidentally, in November 2023, PM Pashinyan forwarded to the NA a bill granting him the exclusive power to appoint and dismiss, without any consultation with the President of Armenia, The Director and “Deputy Directors” of all the directorates operating within the NSS.
We all know that PM Pashinyan has an obvious sociopathic personality and rational understanding and definition of problems are not his strong points, but obsession with power and using “State Institutions” to consolidate his power are part of his forte, together with his masterful methods of promoting lies highly detrimental to the collective good of the country.
Ineluctably, one confronts a long list of questions centred on the decisions taken by PM Pashinyan to establish an Armenian Foreign Intelligence Service, and his motives behind selecting a totally inexperienced person, Ms. Kristine Grigorian, to leave her mark on the new institution (FSI). Let us address some of the questions, in a selective manner due to restrictions of time and space, and try to understand the ramifications of the disastrous path charted by Pashinoglu for Armenia since the end of the 44-Day War.
1) Do all countries need a Foreign Intelligence Service? The answer is NO it is not a must. Many countries do not have a foreign intelligence service, including Canada. They have all kinds of cooperation and information sharing agreements with allies and friendly countries, and all the activities are formally conducted by their national security service, in the case of Canada by CSIS - The Canadian Intelligence Security Service.
2) In the absence of a formal foreign intelligence service, who can also contribute to the collection of information on foreign leaders and their countries? Many Ministries of Foreign Affairs/External Affairs have an “Intelligence Directorate” that collects information from embassies and consulates located in capitals and major cities, analyzes, and then disseminates critical findings to decision makers. I am sure Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has its own “Intelligence Directorate”, and this fact eliminates the argument that Pashinyan has a dire need for an independent FIS to understand his foreign enemies.
3) All leaders who govern countries with formal foreign intelligence services have a clear short-term visions and long-term strategic goals they pursue independently and/or with allies and friendly countries. Does Pashinyan have any strategic goals that he has clearly defined and articulated that require the creation of a foreign intelligence service? NO Pashinyan is a populist demagogue leader, a “False Prophet” with little or no clue about the nature of the political agenda regional powers and international players are pursuing in The South Caucasus since the end of The Second Artsakh War.
4) What are the key elements of Pashinyan’s foreign political agenda today? In foreign policy Pashinyan is acting like a mercenary trying to sell his services to the highest bidder interested in helping him consolidate his power in Armenia. The starting premise of his (or the Civil Contract Party’s) foreign policy orientation is the notion that “Artsakh is a heavy economic burden resting on the shoulders of The Armenian Government.” The most expedient solution to solve The Artsakh problem is to relinquish the enclave to full Azerbaijani territorial sovereignty, followed by a “Peace Treaty” with Aliyev, and “Normalization” of diplomatic relations with Turkey. Normalization with Turkey requires the silencing of The Diaspora, where too many Armenian political parties and lobbying groups perceive Pashinyan’s “Normalization” agenda as a betrayal of the memory of 1.5 million Armenians slaughtered by Turkish Ittihadists during the Genocide of 1915. Once cordial relations are established with the two savage Turkish Tribes (Azerbaijan, Turkey) who consider themselves one nation, Armenian foreign policy objectives will centre on attracting more investments from The European Union, Britain, The US, Turkey, and hopefully after building a strong local economy, resting on foreign investments, Armenia can disentangle itself from Russian economic and military hegemony. For too many observers, Pashinyan’s current foreign policy adventure sounds and looks like the attempt of a slave to change masters, while chasing the mirage that he will be a free agent if he shows loyalty to his new master/s, meanwhile what his new master/s explicitly promised him is strictly to replace the rusted shackles he has with golden ones.
5) Why a totally inexperienced person at the head of Armenia’s Foreign Intelligence Service? Officially, The government of Armenia is accepting the fact that Ms. Kristine Grigorian has a solid professional background as a “Jurist”, and she introduced systematically many reforms in the human rights laws of Armenia, and provided valuable legal advice to The Government of Armenia in a variety of domains affecting the lives of Armenian citizens. In other words, Ms. Grigorian, at the time she was appointed to the position of “Director of The FSI”, had no prior experience in the field of intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination. However, many political figures close to PM Pashinyan were quick to point out that Ms. Grigorian, disappeared for a period of one year from Armenia, to receive an appropriate training provided by “Western Intelligence Services”.
https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32624669.html
6) Do the “Western Intelligence Services” have a name? It is no longer Armenia’s best kept secret that Ms. Grigorian was frequently a visitor of “Chatham House” in London - England. For those who are not familiar with the name “Chatham House” a brief introduction. It is a British “Think Tank”, “...A world-leading policy institute...” pursuing the key goal “...to help governments and societies build a sustainable, secure, prosperous and just world.” The noble goal of the institue are achieved “... through dialogue, research and leadership.” https://www.chathamhouse.org/
To foster a constructive dialogue between parties with diametrically opposed interests, “Chatham House” enforces the following rule: “...share the information you receive, but do not reveal the identity of who said it." "When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed."In cases where the Rule is not considered sufficiently strict, an event may be held ‘off the record’.” Meaning, to hide the identity of a person relying on the training provided by The Institute, secret sessions are held to protect the anonymity of a party seeking the expertise of “Chatham House”. Needless to mention that Chatham House has established strong bonds with Britain’s MI6, and provided extensive training to key players in the British Intelligence Community.
The British scenario was implemented in The US also, and Ms. Grigorian, as part of her year-long training, pursued courses provided by US “Think Tanks” with close ties to The CIA.
7) Does institutional memory exist in Armenia? The answer is plain NO. Had it ever existed, decision makers, including PM Pashinyan, would have consulted a long list of historical records before sending Ms. Grigorian to England. We all know that the keen interest of British Intelligence's gurus in Armenia is not a recent phenomenon that started with the unexpected visit of Mr. Richard Moore, Head of Britain's Foreign Secret Service (MI6), to Armenia and his subsequent meeting of PM Pashinyan on December 16, 2022.
British intrigues and meddling with the destiny of The Armenian Nation, in the modern era gained an unprecedented intensity with the Treaty of Berlin (1878). Concessions from The Ottoman Empire were badly needed to protect British Imperial plans in The Levant, and the Armenian question coupled with the reforms promised by the major signatory powers of The Treaty of Berlin became solid bargaining chips, to blackmail Ottoman decision makers, and to secure a docile cooperation with the British Foreign Office.
Following the Hamidian massacres that claimed the lives of more that 200.000 Armenians, the astute British politician Lord Bryce, Member of Parliament for Aberdeen,"...blamed the Hamidian Massacres (named for Sultan Abdul Hamid II) on Britain for depriving the Armenians of Russian protection in the Treaty of Berlin. He claimed that if it were not for the European Powers, the Armenians would have been spared the storm of fire, famine, and slaughter which descended upon them in 1895.”
Britain never accepted any blame left at the door step of The British Foreign Office, or His Majesty's Secret Service, and most British initiatives remained focused on humanitarian projects from building orphanages in areas ravaged by The Ottoman Army, to distributing food to ward off mass scale famine within the ranks of the Armenian refugees uprooted from their villages.
Up until WWI, many Armenians who were Ottoman citizens were retained by British Consulates established in areas where Armenian revolutionaries were waging a guerilla warfare to improve the rights of the oppressed Armenian populace. Initially they worked as interpreters called "Dragoman", the anglocised version of The Turkish word "Terjuman"/interpreter. Eventually they became "Bona Fide" Intelligence Officers working for his Majesty's Foreign Intelligence Secret Service.
All those Armenians who joined His Majesty's Secret Service hoped that their efforts and loyal services to The British Empire can purchase them a say in shaping the destiny of suffering Armenia. All of them had their hopes dashed on the rocks of the bitter reality that Armenia and The Armenian question were mere disposable tools used and discarded, based on the expediency of any given situation, to protect British interests.
ARMENIANS IN BRITISH INTELLIGENCE DURING WORLD WAR I: A CASE STUDY OF THOMAS MUGERDITCHIAN
For a couple of years now, The British Embassy in Yerevan with the help of Armenian "Think Tanks" enjoying the largesse of donors connected directly to The British Government, organized several meetings in the reception halls of Ani Plaza Hotel in Yerevan, waving the flag of creating a healthy dialogue within a polarized Armenian society.
Now I am not sure what "Healthy" means and healthy for whom. It seems that the primary goal of "The Dialogue" is to convince Armenians to accept British intrigues in the region, because once the Brits emerge triumphant from the regional plots targetting Iran and Russia, they will make sure Armenia is transformed into the land of honey and milk. Is it a sort of naivete that borders stupidity and makes a category of Armenians believe that Britain will give up on more than $80 billion USD of investments in Azerbaijan to introduce peace and prosperity into the Armenian landscape? How difficult is it for Armenians to realize that their docile cooperation is being bought to secure stability for British investments in Azerbaijan, and by extension strengthen the foundations of The Aliyev Dynasty in Baku?
8) Who are the external enemies of Armenia, and what is Pashinyan expecting from Ms. Grigorian? Armenia is ready and willing to sign a “Peace Treaty” with Azerbaijan before the end of 2023. Normalization with Turkey will follow in a very short period of time. With no external Foreign States threatening the national interests of Armenia, who are the parties that PM Pashinyan has designated as “Enemy of The State”.
The answer is very simple. The diaspora and more specifically political parties that support Artsakh’s right for self-determination, and want denialist governments, such as The UK and Turkey, to recognize the Armenian Genocide of 1915. For more details read:
“PM Pashinyan & The New Enemies Of The State”
https://artsakhtheinadequateresponse.blogspot.com/2021/12/pm-pashinyan-new-enemies-of-state.html
The $1000 question is: Will a lawyer at the head of Armenia’s FIS allow her operatives to launch a clandestine war to liquidate Diaspora based Armenian leaders and activists opposing Pashinyan’s lame policies, instead of thus far deporting them from Yerevan’s International Airport, upon landing in Armenia?
Obviously, I don’t have much respect for a mediocre journalist who became a Prime Minister by serving loyally the enemies of his nation,
“Is
Treachery The Dominant Trait of The Pashinyan
Family?”
https://artsakhtheinadequateresponse.blogspot.com/2023/05/is-treachery-dominant-trait-of.html
but I wish Ms. Grigorian the best of luck in her journey as head of The Armenian FIS. Her boss failed to understand since 2018 the difference between ecstatic visions of building a nation and sheer frenzy, I hope she will manage to avoid the same delusions of grandeur.
===================================
Our editorial team believes in the free exchange of ideas.
You are free to republish this article online and in print, as long as the following conditions are respected:
1) The reproduction is not for commercial purposes.
2) Do not edit the text.
3) Give proper credit to the blog by acknowledging the source and creating a hyperlink.
Comments