On December 29, 2005, the National Technical Safety Center (NTSC), was formed on the basis of Decision 2334-N. According to the NTSC’s charter it was set up as an organization to carry out functions safeguarding the technical security sector. Supervision of the NTSC falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

According to the NTSC’s charter, this SNOC (state non-commercial organization) is to carry out functions safeguarding technical security in hazardous production and service commercial sites that are being operated or being prepared for operation in the RoA economy, to survey hazardous production sites, as well as to implement risk assessments and other functions. We should point out that this organization was once a part of the Ministry of Commerce and Economic Development. However, about a year ago, Economics Minister Nerses Yeritsyan proposed that the NTSC be dissolved. Before Minister Yeritsyan had a chance to formally present his proposal, the NTSC was quickly transferred over to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Emergency Situations where it continues to function today. What is interesting to note is that the draft bill to make changes and additions to the RoA law regarding the NTSC has been placed in the website of the Ministry of Economics for the purposes of public review. It would appear that Minister Yeritsyan is trying to finish the job he started last year. If he wasn’t able to have the NTSC dissolved back then, he is now trying to cripple the organization via a change in the law. Major-General Ashot Petrosyan, Director of the NTSC, rides around in a Volkswagen, while other NTSC officials drive Volkspassat’s. Let’s remember that about one year ago RoA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan declared that a new program of cost-cutting and economies of scale would be implemented in the government to ward off the worst impact of the global financial crisis. NTSC chief Ashot Petrosyan receives a monthly salary of about 1million drams ($2670). Surprisingly, this is more than his boss, the Minister of Emergency Situations, more than the RoA Prime Minister, and even more than President Serzh Sargsyan. Ashot Petrosyan’s office is so finely furnished that a visitor would think they’ve entered a museum.

A large number of Mr. Petrosyan’s relatives work at the NTSC. Here is a list of the director’s relatives on the NTSC payroll. Serineh Petrosyan – Ashot Petrosyan’s daughter. Title: Assistant to the Director (i.e. Father’s Assistant) Zhora Petrosyan – Ashot Petrosyan’s brother (some staffers say his cousin) Title: General Division Head Samvel Petrosyan – Grandson of Ashot Petrosyan’s uncle. Title: Analysis Expert Anahit Petrosyan – Another relative. Title: Leading Expert; Dept of Regulations and Methodology. (This   department is supposed to draft regulations and present them to government for passage. To date, however, this nine member department hasn’t drafted any regulations.) Vladimir Hovsepyan – Ashot Petrosyan’s godson. Title: Chief of Examinations Office Other relatives and friends of Ashot Petrosyan also work at the NTSC. Friends of Vladimir Hovsepyan are also on the NTSC payroll. Given that Mr. Hovsepyan is from the district of Malatya-Sebastia, half of the staff hails from the same district. Our sources report that Ashot Petrosyan’s son-in-law (Serineh Petrosyan’s husband) also works at NTSC. We weren’t able to identify his name since he has no dealings with the employees. None of the regular staff dare ask his name since all the offices are monitored with video cameras. Inside the son-in-law’s office there is no plate on the wall with his name or title The employees in the division headed by the director’s son-in-law say that next to the director’s office is the office of Robert Qaramyan, who heads the Financial and Accounting Division, and next to this is the son-in-law’s office. It’s noteworthy that the contracts’ division, where most of the NTSC’s work takes place, isn’t the only office under surveillance. We should point out that contracts signed by businesses in the NTSC are priced differently even while the examinations conducted are the same. In other words, the contractual price for an individual with “influential friends” is much more accessible than for an ordinary citizen. We have a contract in our possession in which the same examination is assesses at different rates. It turns out that the NTSC also serves as a “feeding trough” for the relatives of certain National Assembly deputies as well. Ruben Badeyan, a relation of Republican Party MP Manvel Badeyan, heads the NTSC’s Safety Inspection Division for gas devices and fuel related materials.  Aram Ohanyan, a good friend of MP Karen Jshmarityan, also works at NTSC as a deputy director. Mr. Ohanyan likes to boast to NTSC clients that he has the personal backing of Karen Jshmarityan. There is talk in the NTSC that Ashot Petrosyan will be dismissed from his post in the near future and the names of a possible successor are already being bandied about – Vladimir Hovsepyan, Aram Ohanyan and Robert Qaramyan. We went to the Ministry of Emergency Situations for some further clarification. The ministry’s press secretary, Susanna Abrahamyan, confirmed the fact that Ashot Petrosyan’s daughter and Vladimir Hovsepyan work at the NTSC. Ms. Abrahamyan offered us no further information about other relatives of the director on the NTSC payroll and promised to arrange a meeting for us with Ashot Petrosyan to get some specific answers to our questions.

The interview with Ashot Petrosyan was scheduled for April 20 but the director was unexpectedly called away on a business trip that same day. No one at the NTSC knew where the director had gone for a four day business trip. We went back to Susanna Abrahamyan to reschedule an appointment and made one for April 27.

This one also never took place. Clearly, both the Ministry of Emergency Situations and NTSC Director Ashot Petrosyan wish to avoid any queries from the press. We also haven’t been able to arrange a meeting with Mher Shahgeldyan, the Emergency Situations Minister. We should remind readers that on April 18 we posed the same questions to Armen Gevorgyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Territorial Administration, at a seminar organized for reporters in Aghveran.

“To be honest, and I’m embarrassed to ask, what center are you referring to? Perhaps, it’s the center that used to be attached to the Economics Ministry. I’ve recorded your question and when I return to Yerevan I’ll try to find out what SNOC it is and how it is that they are getting paid a salary of 1 million drams,” stated Armen Gevorgyan. We’ve also contact the Deputy Prime Minister in writing regarding these questions and expect to receive some answers.