Police Guard to be established in Armenia

YEREVAN, 7 June. /ARKA/. Armenian parliamentary committee on defence and security issues on Friday approved a bill calling for establishment of a police guard.

The bill was presented by the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan. Earlier, according to her, the internal troops were transformed into police troops as part of police reforms. Now, they will be transformed into Police Guard, which will focus on ensuring internal security.

‘At the same time, it will be entrusted with a number of functions in case of military actions or emergencies,’ Sargsyan said during the discussion of a package of draft laws on the Police Guard.

Nevertheless, the Guards will not take direct part in military actions, as was the case with the police troops.

The legislative initiative according to the Ministry of the Interior, offers clearer standards for the use of force. Thanks to this, under any circumstances, police officers will know the boundaries of ‘permissible actions’.

In addition, the commander of the Guard will be appointed not by the Armenian President, as in the case of commanders of other security forces, but by the Minister of Internal Affairs.

The new structure will also include the main state security department and the traffic police unit accompanying top officials.

As a result, the government believes, a new, purely police service will be created in Armenia, capable of solving strategic tasks, meeting all modern international criteria, equipped with appropriate weapons, and provided with adequate professional staff. -0-