[Armenian News note: The below is translated from the Russian edition of News.am]
An armed Armenian group has set up a political party
The group, Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sassoun), is best known for its attack on a police station in Yerevan's Erebuni district on 17 July 2016.
The group demanded that then President Serzh Sargsyan free the jailed leader of the radical opposition Founding Parliament movement, Zhirayr Sefilyan, and step down. The gunmen laid down their arms following a two-week standoff with Armenian security forces, which left three police officers dead. Most of the Sasna Tsrer members are veterans of the Nagorno-Karabakh war with Azerbaijan of 1988-94.
Members of the group involved in the attack were jailed following the police station standoff.
After the change of power in Armenia in April-May, most of the gunmen were released from custody on bail pending a final court decision. Sefilyan was also freed on bail. His sentence was commuted from 10.5 years to 5.5 years by the Court of Appeals, pending his appeal to the Court of Cassation to drop all charges.
Snap parliament elections
The newly-set up party will be managed by a seven-member board, with Varuzhan Avetisyan being the coordinator. Avetsyan noted that a similar party would be established in Nagorno-Karabakh as well, the website said.
Sefilyan, who is not an Armenian citizen, cannot become member of the party. He said that he had already applied for citizenship and expressed confidence he will receive it under the current government.
Speaking to journalists, Avetisyan said the group has repeatedly stated it supports Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government, at least until the holding of an early parliamentary election in the country. At the same time, he noted that the victory in the revolution belonged to all people and not only Pashinyan. Earlier, the Sasna Tsrer members announced the group would run in the snap polls.
Vahan Badasyan, a former field commander of Karabakh army and ex-MP of the Karabakh parliament, said in his speech that the "velvet revolution" in Armenia did not happen in a day and that the Sasna Tsrer members played a role in it, News.am said.
"We must put an end to the previous regime's actions that kept Artsakh [Karabakh] as a separate unit, which was in their personal interests. For the sake of a stable peace in the region, we must have one united Armenian state called the Republic of Armenia," Badasyan was quoted as saying at the party's congress.
Political ambitions
He also called for creating a Sasna Tsrer party in Karabakh as a symbol of a dream of Armenia's and Karabakh's unification.
Avetisyan described the presence of the Russian border guards on Armenia's state border as a "shame". He also called for reconsidering existing agreements on the presence of the Russian base in Armenia and the joint air defence system. He said in relations with Russia, Armenia should be ready for "alternative solutions", the website said.
Badasyan said that there were "anti-national forces" in the Armenian parliament and other forces serving them. He said the parliament did not reflect people's will and that the "national forces" should have their place in the upcoming parliamentary election, the website said.
In his speech, member of the Founding Parliament Garegin Chugaszyan also spoke for Karabakh's de jure unification with Armenia, saying it would prevent further tension in the region. He said that Russia's military presence in Armenia should be reconsidered and that Russian border guards should be withdrawn, the website said.