Opposition figure calls Pashinyan main security threat

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) exists and will continue to exist, said Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a member of the ARF Bureau and MP from the Hayastan parliamentary faction, responding to remarks by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

“During his latest outburst in the National Assembly, Nikol Pashinyan said that Dashnaktsutyun is a threat to Armenia and that it is their commitment to ensure that Dashnaktsutyun does not exist. The position of this pro-Turkish force is understandable for us. But once again I remind you: Nikol Pashinyan, the number one threat to Armenia, the Armenian people and national security is you personally and your regime, which together with Ilham Aliyev depopulated Artsakh of Armenians and later handed over around 240 km of territory of Armenia, including strategically important positions, to Azerbaijan,” Saghatelyan said in a video message on Facebook.

He also recalled that in the past “other sultans and Bolsheviks” had tried to eliminate the ARF.

“Now they and those systems no longer exist, while Dashnaktsutyun exists and will continue to exist, defending its homeland, state and people from all threats, despite you and your patrons,” Saghatelyan said.

Earlier, during a question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, Nikol Pashinyan said that one of the government’s political responsibilities is ensuring that parties like the ARF do not exist in Armenia.

He made the statement while responding to a question from Lilit Galstyan, an MP from the Hayastan faction, regarding the atmosphere of violence in the country.

“As long as there is a party in Armenia where people swear an oath on weapons when joining and where shooting their own members has been a common phenomenon, you should worry about your own party… One of our political responsibilities is that parties like yours should not exist in Armenia as part of the strategy to fight crime,” Pashinyan said.