May 19, 2026
“Pashinyan faced reality. Of course, he was aware that his rating was low, people were dissatisfied, disgusted, disliked, hated, etc., etc., but now he is facing himself, he is facing reality.” 168․amin a conversation with Nikol Pashinyan, referring to the reasons for the noisy episodes of the campaign, he mentioned this psychologist Karine Nalchajyan։
Let us remind you that recently Pashinyan has been communicating with the citizens opposing him with rather rude words: “to kill”, “to kill”, “to crush”… even labels, for example, the relatives of the servicemen who died as a result of the tragic incident at the Azat shelter, accusing them of bringing money.
According to Karine Nalchajyan, under the influence of negative emotions, Nikol Pashinyan expresses his true essence, character and real attitude towards people, towards the country, towards the problems and issues of the country.
“When we see what he is like in those moments. he doesn’t have a mask, and imagining his perspective that he can suddenly oppose the spread of this atmosphere of fear, the use of administrative resources, being protected by several layers of law enforcement, clouds are gathering and his chair is rocking very hard.
There is also a game in that behavior. that game needs to deepen and spread the atmosphere of fear. A frightened person will think, as they say, away from trouble, and will not go to elections.
And it is unfortunate that he discredits our country with his behavior, discredits our state, our nation once again. We are not the only ones looking at those shots, what kind of idea will they form about the life of our state and country?
One of the main weapons of the psychological war is to lower and humiliate the self-esteem of the given public, which it still managed to do. he continues to hit several rabbits with one shot, which is a big blow to us, very dangerous,” explained the psychologist.
According to the expert, the best form of self-defense for citizens should be contempt, not giving in to provocation. Karine Nalchajyan emphasizes that the opposition political forces should not give in to these provocations either.
“You can’t fall into that trap,” he concluded.
—
Ambassador Mammadov’s “disclosure”. The maximalism of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem and Yer
May 19, 2026
Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Ankara Rashad Mammadov “revealed” when the Turkish-Armenian border will be opened.
According to the Azerbaijani mass media, in his statement to the Turkish “Cumhuriyet” newspaper, the Azerbaijani diplomat said that the borders will be opened after the June 7 parliamentary elections in Armenia and subsequent constitutional changes. Rashad Mammadov also responded to the claims that Turkey wants to open the borders with Armenia, but Azerbaijan is against it. The ambassador stated that constant consultations are held between Ankara and Baku, and the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations is proceeding parallel to the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations.
He added that after the June 7 parliamentary elections, it is expected to remove the so-called “territorial claims” from the Armenian constitution through amendments. Mammadov noted that after that, the peace treaty initialed in the USA between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be signed. The ambassador emphasized that at the end of this process, along with the Armenian-Turkish borders, the Armenian-Azerbaijani borders will also be opened. A few days ago, RA Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan announced that the Armenian-Turkish dialogue is so mature that at any moment there can even be a complete settlement.
While the RA authorities made the so-called peace theme the main theme of their pre-election campaign, the statement of the Azerbaijani ambassador in Ankara proves once again that Turkey and Azerbaijan continue the policy of harsh preconditions and synchronized pressures on Armenia. This diplomatic concept clearly shows that Ankara and Baku refuse to be guided by such a fundamental principle of international law as the establishment of bilateral relations without preconditions.
Instead, the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem is using the “interdependence” tactic to advance its own agenda, directly conditioning the opening of the Armenia-Turkey border and the regulation of relations and taking Armenian-Azerbaijani processes hostage.
It is also noteworthy how the Turkish-Azerbaijani alliance interferes in the internal political and institutional processes of Armenia, violating the norm of non-interference in the internal affairs of states. Linking the opening of the borders with specific dates and the Mother Law of Armenia is a manifestation of classic political blackmail.
The Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem is trying to legitimize its own imposed agenda through external coercion, turning the Armenian processes and electoral rounds into a tool to satisfy its own demands. This aims to maximally weaken Armenia’s negotiating positions from now on, forcing the Armenian side to make unilateral concessions at the expense of sovereignty.
Ultimately, this policy exposes the falsehood of Ankara and Baku’s rhetoric about establishing lasting peace in the region. The signing of the “Peace Treaty” and the opening of the borders are presented not as the beginning of the formation of an atmosphere of regional cooperation and trust, but as the end result of Armenia’s servitude. By conditioning bilateral relations with the whims of a third party (in this case, Azerbaijan), Turkey refuses to be a constructive actor in the region.
As a result, this maximalist strategy adopted by the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem does not contribute to the integration and stability of the South Caucasus, but maintains geopolitical tension by using the lifting of the blockade of Armenia as a lever for constant political pressure.
In this complex geopolitical context, the apparent disproportion of the reactions of the RA authorities and the application of double standards become prominent. In the event that official Yerevan reacts to the statements from the Russian Federation with an extremely sharp and public rebuttal, as today the RA Foreign Minister sharply emphasized that it is not from the Russian Federation that they should say that EEU and EU membership are incompatible, showing a strong sovereign attitude, full commitment is shown to the direct threats and preconditions of the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem.
Or sometimes at the level of the Minister of Foreign Affairs there is a soft answer that the amendment of the RA Constitution is an internal matter of the RA. The authorities of Armenia not only do not show adequate political resistance to the demands imposed by Baku and Ankara regarding the amendment of the Constitution or other sovereign issues, but in practice they fulfill them step by step while continuing to welcome the “peace agenda” and even publicly thank Ilham Aliyev.
This approach shows the deep imbalance of the foreign policy, where tolerant tactics are applied to the hostile tandem extracting concessions, and the tactical line of intolerance is chosen in relations with the allies.
—
Keep your hands off the heroes. pro-government blogger decided to die in 44 days
May 19, 2026
Recently, I was wondering whether to address this shameful episode or not, because it is related to the commander of the Special Forces, the national hero of the RA, Vahagn Asatryan, who died in the 44-day war. There were some records in the past, but we skipped it, not wanting his name to be circulated too many times. However, I decided to make a short reference anyway, and it has its justification.
And so. On April 30, I noticed a post by Roman Baghdasaryan, a blogger close to Nikol Pashinyan, where he blames the Special Forces commander, RA national hero Vahagn Asatryan for leaving Hadrut without a fight, and another commander, Karen Hayrapetyan.
After my respective actions, the post was deleted, but why am I referring to that episode, because it states that this information was included in his book about the 44-day war, you can imagine, right, who writes about the 44-day war, and the former military leadership is silent, speaking of state secrets on principle, the authorities do not want to publish the report of the investigative commission.
Anyway, when I read this raving about Vahagn Asatryan, whom I know very well, the first thing I remembered was what his mother, Mrs. Sima Petrosyan, told me on one occasion in “Erablur”, where, in particular, noted.
“When he was already in Hadrut, our conversation on the night of the 11th of October (M.P.)… we talked for a long time, he was tired, but he spoke and answered my questions. said: “Mom, I’m in Hadrut, they can’t enter Hadrut, I lengthen the positions, I deepened, everything is normal.” was excited on the 11th of the month he hit Azerbaijani “Yashma” and caused great damage. For the first time, I said: my son, your family misses you, your wife, your sons, he said: Mom, Simash, I can’t come, it’s impossible to leave the army and come. I knew that Azerbaijan wanted to destroy him, wherever they caught him, all their raids…”.
RA National Hero, colonel Vahagn Asatryan died October 12, 2020, after which, in fact, his unit was morally “destroyed”. On the same day, a lieutenant colonel and a detective were also killed Vahagn Tumasyan, a major was also killed at the same time Levon Avetisyan.
Let’s return to Baghdasaryan, who at the same time in his book wrote as if “95 percent of the information about Hadrut was given to Artsrun Hovhannisyan as false, and with that lie they killed our special forces.” Here, of course, pro-government bloggers no bypass Pegow in an accusing tone.
And it’s no wonder that during the 44-day visit, the same Pegov was not only with Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan, so to speak, giving and receiving, but also with Artsrun Hovhannisyan. Moreover, Nikol Pashinyan considered the information given by Arayik Harutyunyan more reliable than that of Onik Gasparyan, the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia.
Apart from this, not once we wrote that foreign media, questionable bloggers, pro-government circles had access to war zones during the war, while Armenian media was limited in reporting even the reliable information they had. Another episode should be remembered here.
of 2020 on October 9 At that time, the representative of the RA Ministry of Defense Artsrun Hovhannisyan published a photo on his Facebook page, stating: “With the commander.”
That is, on or before October 9, a plan of action is drawn up, and on October 10, the commander of the defense area of the Defense Zone N abandons the duties of the commander of an individual regiment and shows a careless attitude. At least, after the war, a criminal case was initiated against him on this charge.
And why does Yailoyan refuse the duties of a regiment commander, maybe he was not familiar with the terrain of the southern parts of Artsakh, the Hadrut region, as required by combat operations, after all, Yailoyan left for Artsakh service from Yerevan, before that he served in Meghri. And maybe there were other problems?
Anyway, after a while, how? we reported The criminal prosecution against the colonel accused in the criminal case related to the 44-day movement is stopped. And the charges brought against the colonel did not prevent him from continuing his service in the southwestern border zone of RA, and then he was entrusted with a position in the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces, he is considered one of Suren Papikyan’s close friends.
Let’s go back to Vahagn Asatryan, there are not many commanders like him, and now some blogger with a dubious past decides to find the culprit for the loss of Hadrut and put the responsibility on one of the best commanders who died while defending the motherland, by the way, we still need to understand the circumstances of his death, because he was targeted by the enemy, and there were collaborators with the enemy from the Armenian side on the battlefield.
Any episode related to Hadrut should also be thoroughly investigated one day, by the way, as in the case of Shushi, the authorities have tried to put the loss of Hadrut in the pockets of different people at different times.
The 44-day page is not closed, one day any episode should be subjected to military and legal investigation. Until then, we must protect our heroes from “dirty hands”, as they protected us on the battlefield.
We should not watch with indifference how our de jure and de facto heroes are discredited today, because they are not only their relatives. That’s all.
—
The European Union makes empty promises to Armenia, Russia to the labor market.
May 19, 2026
168TVof “Trigger” the guest of the program is Russian political scientist Sergey Markedonov:
During the program, the meeting between the leaders of the USA and China, the economic and political agreements reached, the possibility of the resumption of military operations against Iran, as well as the expected visit of Vladimir Putin to Beijing were discussed.
The meeting between Vladimir Zelensky and Ilham Aliyev was also discussed, as well as the announcements about the possible production of weapons.
A separate reference was made to the topic of the European Political Community Summit in Armenia.
Special attention was paid to the upcoming elections in Armenia and the possible development of the internal political situation in the country. In the framework of the discussion, the questions regarding the support of Nikol Pashinyan in the elections by the European Union, Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as the position of Russia were considered.
Hayk Derzyan
—
168: Pashinyan is turning into an information “killer”. to the opposition he is alive and well
May 19, 2026
The Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Turkey, Rashad Mammadov, revealed the price of Nikol Pashinyan’s reproduction, but “the ball is now in the court of the Armenian people” – will we tolerate such a blatant interference in the internal affairs of our country or will we show resistance? 168 TVof Revue expressed such an opinion on the air of the program Political scientist Suren Surenyants, a candidate for the National Assembly on the pre-election list of PAPthecommenting on the statement of the Ambassador of Azerbaijan in an interview to “Jumhuriet” that the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border was conditioned by the internal political processes of Armenia.
According to Surenyants, Mammadov’s statement that “the Armenian-Turkish border will be opened after the parliamentary elections of June 7, when the process of amendments to the Armenian constitution will be completed” reveals Baku’s precondition for Nikol Pashinyan.
“Mamedov made a very obvious discovery. We all know that Azerbaijan has that tough precondition on the way to signing the peace treaty, and that is the price of Nikol Pashinyan’s reproduction, that is, Aliyev tolerates his happy vassal, Nikol Pashinyan, to be reproduced only on the condition that he implements the new Azerbaijani preconditions. The first is the amendment of the Constitution,” commented Suren Surenyants.
The political scientist adds, secondly, the ambassador of Azerbaijan actually confirmed the fact that the settlement of Armenian-Turkish relations is completely determined by Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. Of course, these are the approaches of official Baku and Ankara, and by recording these facts, Surenyants shows the real situation to the Armenian society, leaving the consequences to the voters.
“This is a wonderful discovery for all our voters who, as if they have no alternative, want to choose Pashinyan or are still undecided, subject to the government’s media terror. Take a stand, dear compatriots, you are openly told that the re-election of Nikol Pashinyan means the transformation of Armenia into an Azerbaijani sub-state,” said Suren Surenyants.
The candidate for the National Assembly emphasizes that Turkey and Azerbaijan are trying in every way to support Pashinyan in these elections, and in this case “the ball is in the court of the Armenian people”, will we tolerate this interference?
«Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said about it very openly months ago. They are making every effort so that their vassal, or to say Nikol Pashinyan’s favorite words, the one who “squats” in front of them or the one who “squats” in front of the other, is re-elected to the position of the Prime Minister of Armenia. Now the ball is in the court of the Armenian people, as well as the opposition. Are we going to tolerate such an interference in our internal affairs, which is the shortest way to Azeriization of Armenia, or are we going to show resistance?– announced Suren Surenyants.
Speaking about Pashinyan’s unbalanced and jerky behavior during the campaign, Surenyants is not in a hurry to consider his situation as completely absurd, but notes that the panic is obvious.
In this context, referring to Pashinyan’s yesterday, containing threats to “dismember” and “kill” of announcements to the question, Suren Surenyants says:
“If we lived in a normal country, the law enforcement agencies would have detained this person spreading violence and hate speech a long time ago, because, apart from the opposition, he is specifically targeting a specific part of Armenia, the Artsakh Armenians. It does this consciously. I’m saying that if we lived in a normal country, he would not have planned his regular campaign day long ago, but would have waited for the “tulik” (handover: – A.S.) in the isolation cell of the National Security Service.
Surenyants emphasizes that he knows that this is the dream of a significant part of the society, not because our society is evil, but because he believes that Nikol Pashinyan will have to answer for the national destruction and tragedy he brought. In this regard, referring to the video of unknown origin spreading on the Internet and containing threats to Pashinyan, Suren Surenyants noted that after seeing such a video, a reasonable leader instructs the law enforcement agencies to order an investigation, quickly identify the creators of this really unacceptable content and find out all the circumstances, which is what the opposition demands, and Nikol Pashinyan, instead of doing this, uses it as a “weapon” against the opposition and turns into an “information killer” by attacking him. seeing Robert Kocharyan, Gagik Tsarukyan, Samvel Karapetyan among all the citizens who oppose him.
According to Suren Surenyants, the opposition forces need Nikol Pashinyan alive and well.
“If this investigation is not done, instead of an investigation, we see that Nikol Pashinyan is using this as an excuse to target Armenian citizens as a political or information killer, reasonable doubts may arise that this content was created either in the cabinet of the government or in the cabinet of any of the owners of this government. As General Manvel used to say.
“You have a hammer in your hand, a nail, and a nail.” Find out. Then, for example, I learned from Nikol Pashinyan that there is such a video… He doesn’t even imagine that the key opposition forces need him alive and well. He has so many questions to answer. I said that there is another one, lying in the “basement of the KGB”, waiting for his blog friend. I am talking about Nairi Hunanyan. Why does it seem to him that the opposition wants to target him? The opposition needs him alive and well. Many articles of the Criminal Code, sitting under the wall, “weep” for him,” Surenyants added.
The political scientist puts forward the hypothesis that with this Nikol Pashinyan is creating an excuse either to start repressions or to postpone the elections.
According to Surenyants, we can give different assessments, but there is only one solution: to remove him politically.
Full interview in the video.
—
RFE/RL – Court Upholds Short Jail Term For Pashinian Motorcade Officer
- Robert Zargarian
Armenia’s Court of Appeals confirmed on Tuesday an 18-month prison sentence given to a police officer whose car struck and killed a pregnant woman while leading Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s motorcade in April 2022.
The 28-year-old Sona Mnatsakanian was hit by the SUV while crossing a street in central Yerevan. The vehicle’s driver, police Major Aram Navasardian, was twice arrested by investigators but freed by courts. The Armenian police did not fire or suspend him even after he went on trial in November 2022.
A Yerevan court of first instance sentenced Navasardian to 18 months in prison last August after convicting him of reckless driving and negligence. It also ordered him to pay Mnatsakanian’s family 4 million drams ($10,800) in damages. The family appealed against the verdict, saying that Navasardian must be jailed for at least four years.
The policeman, who denies the accusations, also lodged an appeal, insisting that he did not breach a 100-kilometer/hour speed limit set by the Armenian government. According to the results of forensic tests cited by investigators, the police car driven by him raced through Yerevan at about 109 kilometers/hour (68 miles/hour).
Both sides are unhappy with the latest ruling as well. They said they will now appeal to the Court of Cassation. Navasardian will go to prison only if the prison sentence is upheld by the higher court before the statute of limitations for the crime attributed to him expires next year. The victim’s family suspects that law-enforcement and judicial authorities have been dragging out court proceedings to save him from imprisonment.
The family has repeatedly demanded that criminal charges be also brought against two senior bodyguards of Pashinian who were in a position to determine the speed of the motorcade. Prosecutors have rejected the demands, sparking more allegations of a coverup. The allegations also stem from the suspicious disappearance of the audio of radio conversations among security personnel that escorted Pashinian that day.
Opposition politicians and other critics have blamed Pashinian for the accident. The prime minister denies any responsibility for it. He has compared himself to innocent passengers of a bus running over a pedestrian.
Pashinian’s limousine and six other cars making up his motorcade drove past the dying woman moments after the accident. Navasardian also did not stop to help her.
Mnatsakanian’s mother, Armine Makinian, went to the Court of Appeals on Wednesday to not only hear its ruling but also “look [Navasardian] in the eyes.”
“In the morning, I met him in the court’s yard and said what has accumulated in my heart for these four years,” said Makinian. “That man does not admit his guilt, he does not admit his guilt at all.”
The grief-stricken woman also blamed Pashinian for her daughter’s death and said he must apologize to all Armenians.
“It’s your job, you organize that work, your subordinates organize that work,” she said. “If you don’t organize it properly, then it’s your fault too.”
—
Moscow Warns Of Armenia’s Ouster From Russian-Led Trade Bloc
Russia again questioned Armenia’s continued membership in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) on Tuesday, citing the Armenian government’s desire to join the European Union.
Echoing President Vladimir Putin’s recent statement, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk said Yerevan must already choose between remaining part of the Russian-led trade bloc and sticking to its European integration drive.
“The Armenian people are close to us, and we care about their lives and the future state of the Armenian economy,” Overchuk told the official TASS news agency. “On the contrary, we do everything we can to ensure that the economy flourishes there. But if the choice is in favor of the EU, then, of course, we have a question. Why should we support that at our own expense? If Armenia joins countries unfriendly to Russia, why should we support it?”
“We hear from the Armenian side that they are striving to join the EU and adopt its standards but at the same time they want to remain in the EEU and enjoy all the economic benefits that membership provides. Armenia had better make a decision quickly; this would be fairer both to Armenia’s EEU allies and to Armenia itself,” he said.
Putin told Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian that the decision should be taken “as soon as possible” when they met in Moscow on April 1. Yerevan has since remained reluctant to set any date for such a choice, a stance reaffirmed by Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on Tuesday.
“We will continue our rapprochement with the European Union,” Mirzoyan told reporters. “When the moment comes to decide whether to be a member of this group or that group of countries, we will make that decision.”
Overchuk confirmed that Putin will bring up “Armenia’s status in the Eurasian Economic Union” during the bloc’s May 29 summit in Kazakhstan. Pashinian has said he will not attend the summit, citing the ongoing parliamentary election campaign in Armenia. He implied earlier this month that the South Caucasus country cannot be kicked out of the EEU without its consent.
Critics say that even if Pashinian vetoes its exit from the bloc, Moscow will still be in a position to impose crippling economic sanctions on Yerevan. Armenia is heavily dependent on Russia for trade and energy, a fact regularly emphasized by Putin and other Russian officials.
—
Pashinian’s Threats Against Opposition Leaders Not Investigated
- Naira Bulghadarian
Prosecutors made clear on Tuesday that they are not looking into the legality of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s latest pledge to “take out” Armenia’s top opposition leaders and his insults and threats addressed to refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Pashinian repeatedly lost his temper on Monday as he was approached and criticized by several citizens while campaigning for next month’s parliamentary elections in Yerevan’s northern Arabkir district. They included Arpine Soghoyan, a gynecologist whose brother, senior military medic Hrant Papikian, went missing during the 2020 war in Karabakh. Soghoyan blamed Pashinian for her loss and accused him of having “stolen my fatherland” and “tried to bring us to our knees.”
Pashinian responded by linking the middle-aged woman to the leaders of the three main opposition groups challenging him in the June 7 elections and pledging to “take out” them. He reacted even more furiously later in the day after being confronted by a Yerevan-based Karabakh activist, Artur Osipian, who criticized his policies on Karabakh.
Osipian was dragged away from Pashinian after a tense exchange between the two men. Moments later, Pashinian picked up a megaphone and rushed towards the man, shouting insults and threats.
“These Karabakh pseudo-elites must get the hell out of here,” he cried. “What are you doing here? … You should have died when there was the Karabakh issue. Why are you alive at all, you scumbag?”
Osipian, who publicly campaigned against Karabakh’s last leadership before the region’s recapture by Azerbaijan, was arrested by police on suspicion of “hooliganism” shortly after the incident. He remained in police custody as of Tuesday evening. It remained unclear whether he will be formally charged.
Pashinian’s outbursts provoked a storm of condemnation from the Armenian opposition. Samvel Karapetian, a billionaire leading the main opposition Strong Armenia alliance, deplored “one of the most shameful and disgraceful days for our people” in a video message posted on social media on Monday night.
“Even 20 more days of Pashinian remaining in power is dangerous for our country,” said Karapetian. “Our enemies can see the mentally unstable state of our country’s temporary leader … Pashinian is disgracing not only our state but also the image of the Armenian people, the Armenian man.”
Former President Robert Kocharian, who leads the opposition Hayastan alliance, again questioned Pashinian’s sanity, saying mockingly that “the patient needs our compassion.” Other opposition figures claimed that with his latest antics the premier exposed his growing fears of losing power.
Predictably, law-enforcement authorities reported no criminal proceedings against Pashinian over what critics see as death threats against the opposition. The Office of the Prosecutor-General told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Tuesday that it has not even launched a preliminary inquiry.
This stance stood in sharp contrast with recent months’ regular arrests of Pashinian detractors accused of insulting the premier or his allies on social media. No such criminal cases have been opened against any government loyalists.
—
RFE/RL Reporter Attacked By Pro-Pashinian Official
The pro-government deputy mayor of the northern Armenian town of Spitak physically attacked an RFE/RL correspondent on Tuesday just before an election campaign rally held there by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian.
The official, Artak Matosian, was present at the rally along with local government employees despite not being legally allowed to attend election-related events during work hours. He reacted aggressively when the reporter, Karine Simonian, wondered why he is not at work.
“What do you want, man? … I am at work. The country’s prime minister is coming,” Matosian snapped as he prepared to greet Pashinian in Spitak’s central square.
“Stop filming me,” he added, punching Simonian’s camera.
Spitak Mayor Kajayr Nikoghosian, who was also at the scene, clearly approved of his deputy’s behavior despite the fact that obstruction of journalists’ work is a criminal offense under Armenian law.
“Have you again come to cause trouble?” Nikoghosian told Simonian, refusing to answer her questions.
Nikoghosian, who is affiliated with the ruling Civil Contract party, himself is no stranger to controversy. Last October, a resident of a nearby village claimed to have been beaten up by the mayor after complaining about a lack of water of supply to his home. Nikoghosian avoided prosecution for the alleged assault.
People attending Pashinian’s rally in Spitak included employees of the municipal administration as well as the local branch of the Haypost national postal service run by Nikoghosian’s son.
“I work as a laborer at the municipal administration,” Hrachya Marutian, a middle-aged holding a Pashinian campaign poster with another local government worker, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service before being led away by a young Pashinian loyalist.
“We are glorifying our Nikol,” Marutian’s wife and colleague said for her part.
Civil Contract was accused by opposition groups and media of abusing its administrative resources even before the official start of campaigning for the June 7 parliamentary elections. One of the opposition leaders, Arman Tatoyan, publicized late last week purported audios of a college lecturer affiliated with the ruling party ordering her students to attend a Pashinian rally in the town of Armavir.
No Civil Contract members or supporters have been prosecuted on election-related charges to date. Law-enforcement authorities have arrested instead dozens of opposition activists and supporters on charges of buying votes or paying people to attend opposition rallies. Virtually all of them are linked to billionaire Samvel Karapetian’s Strong Armenia alliance widely regarded as Pashinian’s number one election challenger.
—
The re-election of the current government may be the end of Armenia
Part of the people will elect a new government, another part of the people will elect the liquidation commission of Armenia.
Until June 7, our collective task is to get the right proportion.
This is more than a pre-election issue. this is a historical mission. Then it will be late, as it was late after the wrong election in 2021, with the loss of Artsakh.
Don’t get tired, don’t get tired, talk, convince, explain to those who are undecided, those who don’t vote, “those who don’t engage in politics”.
It was also necessary to work with those who speak the “KP dialect”. Of course, there is a hopeless subculture among them. But there are people who still have a conscience and the ability to think. It should be explained to them that their motivation, their interest will not be realized in case of general defeat. It is a lie that you will continue to promote your personal interest in case of the reproduction of this government. It won’t happen. It will not happen, because this government will quickly start the task of dissolving Armenia. He does not hide that he will give, concede, accept, whatever they say, he will do. What are you going to do? All your personal plans will also fail with the general one. In Artsakh, too, some people were promoting “personal interest”. What happened next?
After his behavior yesterday, how can any self-respecting person vote for him? Naturally, several hundreds of thousands will vote. This is the reality, I have nothing to say, but don’t take it personally. State system, those who remain silent in office and others, normal people, think about what you are participating in with your vote.
On June 8, when it becomes clear that a new solid government is being formed, you will not see anyone who voted for the CP. There will not be one person who will say “I voted for him”. 99 percent of voters will suddenly disappear after the elections. People will fake themselves. Unfortunately, this is Armenia. It would be much more honest not to vote in the first place.
Vahe Hovhannisyan
Alternative projects group
—