YEREVAN (RFE/RL) — Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan rejected on Monday, April 15, human rights activists’ and opposition leaders’ criticism of his angry behavior and sacking orders issued during a visit to a customs facility in Yerevan.
Pashinyan had berated a customs officer, Hayk Martirosyan, for not standing at attention when he began inspecting the facility on April 9. He then entered an office and noticed an apparently dirty Armenian flag there before ordering everyone working in the room to be fired.
Human rights activists condemned Pashinyan’s behavior, saying that he is not legally allowed to order such sackings. They also decried Martirosyan’s humiliation in front of TV cameras.
Martirosyan and the chief of the customs terminal resigned from their jobs following the incident. The State Revenue Committee (SRC), which comprises the Armenian customs service, denied forcing them to quit. The SRC chief, Davit Ananian, also claimed that Pashinyan “urged,” rather than ordered, their dismissal.
Opposition politicians added their voice to the criticism. One of them compared Pashinyan’s behavior to Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko’s periodical public outbursts, while another published an open letter earlier on Monday accusing the prime minister of violating labor rights.
Pashinyan scoffed at the letter. “If things continue like this, the next letter will be about us violating Serzh Sarkisian’s labor rights,” he said, referring to Armenia’s former leader overthrown in last year’s “velvet revolution.”
