Category: 2021

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, former Chief of Staff of Armenia’s Constitutional Court Edgar Ghazaryan states that every Armenian citizen who was at Yerevan’s Republic Square during the anti-government protests on 23 April 2018, must also join the nationwide rally in the Armenian capital on February 20 to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation.

“Unfortunately, there may have been people among them who were killed in the [recent Artsakh] war. All their relatives should come and, in my opinion, demand answers from the person who is responsible for the current situation,” Ghazaryan told a news conference on Wednesday.

According to him, people must find inner strength, overcome severe stress and restore rule of law in Armenia.

“The power in Armenia belongs to the people. In the history of Armenia, there should not be even one ruler whose will, wishes and influence on the people have bigger role than the opposite,” he said.

The rally organized by the Homeland Salvation Movement will be held at Liberty Square on February 20, at 3pm.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan must stand trial separately for two “crimes”, opposition leader Vazgen Manukyan told reporters in Yerevan’s Liberty Square on Wednesday.

“There will be two trials. First, Pashinyan will answer for corruption, for plunging the country into the corruption he was fighting against. Second, he will be held to account for the outbreak of the [recent Artsakh] war and treason,” said Manukyan, who has been nominated as a caretaker prime minister by the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement.

According to him, this whole period has shown that Pashinyan is an incompetent leader, which is unable to lead both the country and the army.

Referring to Pashinyan’s promises made during his visit to the second largest city of Gyumri today, Vazgen Manukyan noted that he resorts to populism to remain in power by making various “empty” promises.

The opposition leader said that Nikol Pashinyan “is posing a threat” to the future of the country.

“A man who is desperately trying to cling to power at any cost cannot possibly be respected by his people or the foreign states; he cannot bring benefits for the country,” Manukyan said, adding that Pashinyan’s most “patriotic step” would be to step down.

Noting that there are some groups of people who may treat the premier with respect, Manukyan said at the same time that today all experts, scientists and artists, who have a deep understanding of the situation, have no respect for him. People’s living conditions have not improved during his tenure, Manukyan said, again urging Pashinyan to resign.

Freedom fighter and intelligence officer Gevorg Gevorgyan calls on people to gather at Yerevan’s Liberty Square on 20 February for a nationwide rally to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government.

In a video message released by the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement on Wednesday, the freedom fighter accused the authorities of “betraying the people and destroying the Armenian statehood”.

“Come out, the Armenian people, and fight for your homeland! We are looking forward to seeing all of you at Liberty Square on 20 February, at 3pm,” he said.  

“We have already fallen several times, but have managed to get back on our feet again. We will bounce back, but we must learn lessons to build such a country that external forces cannot play on our feelings, come to power again and destroy the country,” Vazgen Manukyan, the candidate of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement for a caretaker prime minister, told reporters at Yerevan’s Liberty Square on Wednesday.

Noting that following his meetings with citizens he was convinced that all of them favor Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation, Manukyan said at the same time people are worried about whether there is a way out of the crisis in Armenia.

“We insist on conduct of snap parliamentary elections in Armenia, but only after the replacement of the prime minister,” Manukyan said, stressing that the man who “told lies throughout the war and is clinging to power will make every effort to rig the elections.”

Therefore, he said, the would-be interim prime minister and his political team should not participate in the elections or remain in power after the elections. Manukyan reiterated the opposition call for early elections and impartiality for holding them.

He believes that there have been evil phenomena in Armenia for 30 years, while the war has become a disaster. According to Manukyan, the evil stemmed from rigged elections, because a person who came to power by falsification has obligations to the falsifiers.

As a result, Manukyan said, some people get privileges, which affects the economy and the development of the country in general.

Asked whether the alliance of 17 opposition parties is at an impasse following the current authorities’ decision to abandon the plan of snap elections and Nikol Pashinyan’s refusal to step down, Manukyan disagreed with the wording, adding their movement is about a political struggle aimed at saving the country from a catastrophe through nationwide efforts.

“Do you realize what we have lost? We have lost everything, we have lost Artsakh, we are losing the borders, we have an ignored country, the leader of which signs any document presented to him,” Manukyan said, adding that it is not for the premier to decide whether to stay in power or not, but the people, and the 17 parties are called upon to organize the public struggle. 

Vazgen Manukyan said 90% of the people agree that Nikol Pashinyan should leave.