Human rights activist Ruben Melikyan says Colonel-General Onik Gasparyan should not have accepted his dismissal as chief of the army’s General Staff instead of challenging its legality in the Administrative Court.
Earlier on Wednesday, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that Gasparyan was automatically relieved of his post by virtue of law.
"It was incomprehensible to me that yesterday former General Staff Chief Onik Gasparyan admitted that his duties were terminated," Melikyan told a news conference on Thursday, referring to the recent developments around the General Staff.
According to the human rights activist, there were lawyers who insisted that Onik Gasparyan could and should have remained in office, but the senior army officer instead decided to apply to the Administrative Court to challenge the legality of Pashinyan’s order to fire him.
Ruben Melikyan said that many people had different expectations from the military, particularly Onik Gasparyan, adding there were people who warned against heroizing them not to be “bitterly disappointed” later.
Reflecting on Nikol Pashinyan's meeting with the military’s top brass on Wednesday, Ruben Melikyan first noted that the military has nothing to do with PR and could not imagine that their move to stand up for a moment to greet Pashinyan would be presented in such a way that they allegedly greeted him very warmly.
"But according to the information I obtained, the military has raised rather sharp questions. But it does not seem to matter at all. It's just that those people [senior officers] have no idea about PR, that's why they fell into the trap. However, I think that person [Pashinyan] is not worthy of even a five-second reception. I have a much more radical position on this issue and believe that people dealing with the main culprit of our national disaster are not worthy of a handshake,” he said.
The human rights activist said it is time for people to take risky steps, especially when there is nothing to lose anymore.
"We have lost our homeland, our compatriots … our dignity. We can no longer walk with our heads held high as we have lost that right. If we do not restore our dignity, it is too early to talk about the rest," he said.
Commenting on the attitude of President Armen Sarkissian on the matter, Melikyan said that the role of the president was negative.
"He shouldn't have taken any step other than to challenge Pashinyan's decision to the Constitutional Court, because he had confirmed that it was unconstitutional. This means the president of the country has been discredited,” he added.