The First President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, reflected on the political opposition’s rally Saturday demanding PM Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation.
“The rally led by [the opposition’s PM candidate] Vazgen Manukyan deepened my fears about the risk of a civil war threatening our country. (…). The half-hour blockade of the Prime Minister’s residence by the jam-packed march led by Manukyan and the disgusting act of intimidation of Pashinyan’s family is nothing but an open demonstration of readiness for violence,” Ter-Petrosyan said.
“Meanwhile, Manukyan carelessly ignores the fact that the other—Pashinyan—side also has taken the same position. The latter’s behavior and rhetoric show that he does not intend to leave [from power] voluntarily at all, but is ready for any confrontation. Therefore, if both sides are determined, a clash is inevitable,” Ter-Petrosyan added.
“Considering the disgraceful and humiliating defeat for Armenia and Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh) in the recent war], the Pashinyan regime must leave definitely and immediately; but not through internal national conflicts, but exclusively through constitutional means, which will bring honor to both conflicting parties.
Therefore, I call on our people not to take part in the mass provocations provoked by both the current government and the opposition, which, in addition to threatening a civil war, are also extremely dangerous in terms of making the spread of the coronavirus uncontrollable [in Armenia],” Levon Ter-Petrosyan concluded.
