“The authorities’ goal is to neutralize opposition leaders”: Arman Abovyan

Arman Abovyan, a representative of the Prosperous Armenia Party, sharply criticized the searches and ongoing actions at the home of Gagik Tsarukyan, the party’s leader. He characterized what is happening as a continuation of intense pressure on the opposition, carried out on the very first working day after the Constitutional Court’s decision.

Abovyan drew parallels between the actions of security forces and the trip of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to Russia.

“Today Nikol Pashinyan flew to the Russian Federation, and on this very same day this is happening… I don’t know whether to call it a search or hooliganism. If they defended the interests of the Republic of Armenia in the same way, with the same persistence and within the logic of this semi-militarized operation, I believe we would have a better and safer country,” he noted.

According to the PAP member, the authorities’ actions are aimed not merely at silencing but at the complete neutralization of leaders of the opposition camp, particularly Gagik Tsarukyan.