YEREVAN. – Even if the deadline for the President to petition to the Constitutional Court ends on March 9, the chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Onik Gasparyan, still has various options—including appealing to the administrative court—for being reinstated. Arpine Hovhannisyan, former National Assembly (NA) vice-speaker and ex-Minister of Justice, told this to reporters ahead of the opposition’s rally Saturday on Marshal Baghramyan Avenue, across the NA building.
"I cannot say what the chief of the General Staff will decide, but the fact is that the issue has not been resolved," she added.
Also, Hovhannisyan noted that neither the Constitution nor the law on the status of the servicemen provides grounds for dismissing the chief of the General Staff.
When asked why the President does not challenge—at the Constitutional Court—the Prime Minister's proposal to sack the chief of the General Staff, Arpine Hovhannisyan said: "If I comment from the position of the Prime Minister, there can be a threat there, manipulation of citizenship card, there can be a request, tears, political trade."
And reflecting on the actions of the opposition, Hovhannisyan said that Marshal Baghramyan Avenue will remain closed as long as the current treacherous junta rules in Armenia.