'I am prepared for any scenario': Prosperous Armenia leader blasts authorities over 'terrorizing opponents'

17:30 • 15.06.20

Politics

After the search of his house in an Armenian village and his subsequent interrogation by the National Security Service (NSS), the opposition Prosperous Armenia party's (PAP) leader voiced his criticism against the current government, blaming it for attempts to silence the critics.

In a statement released on Monday, Gagik Tsarukyan attributed the recent developments around his personality to the Armenian authorities' failure to handle the "extremely serious situation" linked to the coronavirus pandemic. "Armenia is facing a serious healthcare crisis, whose dreadful consequences our population is still to experience. The government itself is responsible - by virtue of its intolerable unseriousness and failure to envision the risks - for the tens of thousands of sick people and hundreds of deaths. Even at this moment, doesn't the government have a clear-cut strategy; it does not have an in-depth understanding of the problem. It does not know what to do to find a way out of this situation. Social tension is boiling up in the country day by day, with hundreds of people remaining alone in the face of the virus. The discontent in the country is heating up by every hour."

"And what are the authorities doing to provide solutions to the problem? Instead of doing difficult but at the same time real work, they opt for terrorizing opponents.

"The law enforcers' raid targeting me and the criminal cases had been plotted several days ago - after my speech [in parliament calling for the incumbent authorities' resignation]. To be frank, it wasn't unexpected to me. At the bottom of my heart, however, I had the slight hope that the authorities would perceive the problems raised in my speech as a wake-up call, as a warning by a person perfectly aware of the country's economic situation, that they would admit their evident errors and try to consolidate all the [political] forces in an effort to find solutions," he said, thanking also the public and political circles that offered their support.

"This is not my private problem," Tsarukyan said. "This is the choice of each and every of us. And the choice is clear: either to head towards resolving the problems in a literate way and with concerted efforts or to opt for terrorizing those who are vocal about the problem. I have already made my choice. And, judging by the developments, many others have followed suit. I am prepared for any scenario."

The politician further made an appeal to his co-thinkers to summon upcourage, promising united efforts to overcome the crisis under any conditions, "even if the authorities and [Prime Minister] Nikol Pashinyan personally do their best to deteriorate the situation."

"I have only one desire today. I want our country to come out of this situation - something our government is not able to ensure. Our country has to calm down after all," Tsarukyan said,

At the end, the PAP leader called upon the citizens of Armenia "to maintain trust and will" and to observe the anti-epidemiological measures under any circumstances. "Your health is above everything for me," he added.