Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan has appeared to compare Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to notorious leaders such as Muammar Gaddafi of Libya and Saddam Hussein of Iraq, saying they all ‘unwillingly or intentionally [...] create instability themselves’.
The comments appeared in a lengthy post published on Tuesday on Facebook, with its title labelling Pashinyan as ‘the main factor in destabilising Armenia’s domestic political life’.
‘Any head of state, who is, of course, not insane, seeks above all to create stability in their own country. There are, of course, truly insane leaders (Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein, and others) who, unintentionally or deliberately, contrary to this imperative, themselves create instability’, the post read.
Ter-Petrosyan went on to criticise Pashinyan’s political moves in several issues, including his response to the ‘rightful demands’ of the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian refugees. Ter-Petrosyan specifically criticised his ‘reproaches, insults, and at times, vulgar expressions’.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
Ter-Petrosyan went on to mention Pashinyan’s other ‘failure[s]’, including his crackdown on the Armenian Apostolic Church since late May, which he called ‘unforgivable and dangerous adventurism’.
According to his assessment, the initiative was ‘aborted due to strong nationwide counteraction’.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
Lastly, Ter-Petrosyan touched upon the developments around the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), following the detention of its owner Samvel Karapetyan in late June.
Karapetyan has been accused of calls of usurpation of power in Armenia, following his remarks in defence of the church.
In July, the Armenian Parliament adopted legislative amendments to nationalise the ENA.
Talking about the adopted bill, Ter-Petrosyan called it ‘Pashinyan’s next provocative action’, adding that the move itself was an ‘unconstitutional initiative’. He also characterised Karapetyan’s detention and the raids of his businesses as ‘unlawful punitive actions’, as well as being ‘yet another factor undermining the much-needed stability in our country’.
‘In short, Pashinyan’s adopted impulsive course of action is truly aimed not at the critically needed unity of our nation, but solely at its division’, Ter-Petrosyan concluded.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
Ter-Petrosyan and Pashinyan are former allies; together they led a series of protests following the 2008 presidential election. In 2012, Pashinyan was elected as an MP representing Ter-Petrosyan’s Armenian National Congress Alliance.
However, their relations have deteriorated recently, with both sides harshly criticising each other. A recent example of this was Ter-Petrosyan’s support for the church, including two meetings with Catholicos Karekin II, since Pashinyan’s crackdown
Following this, Ter-Petrosyan became a target of Pashinyan’s criticism and was labelled a ‘state-ruining scourge’.
Earlier in June, Pashinyan, along with members of his Civil Contract party, accused Ter-Petrosyan of being ‘the founder of the practice of election fraud’ in Armenia.
Arshaluys Barseghyan
