Former PM adviser: There was no coup attempt

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former chief advisor to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and political science Ph.D., Arsen Gasparyan, told journalists that there was no coup attempt by the “Holy Struggle” movement; “unfortunately, these are all political persecutions.”

He urged 680,000 citizens who re‑elected the current government in 2021 to reflect on the ongoing political repression, he said.

Gasparyan noted that the “Holy Struggle” is the most influential opposition force in Armenia, not because it is led by a cleric, but because the movement has no economic gain; the leaders have never engaged in financial dealings. It is a genuine, sincere movement born out of the unilateral territorial concessions in the Tavush region—he argued there is a direct cause‑and‑effect relationship between that and the political persecution they face.

On the morning of June 25, security forces began searches in homes of “Holy Struggle” supporters and ARF members. The Investigative Committee alleges that the movement’s participants and leaders planned “terrorist acts and seizure of power.” On June 24, PM Nikol Pashinyan shared a civic.am article titled “Opposition coup plan,” calling it “the failed coup of the thugs.”