YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am) — Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party on Thursday, May 23 distanced itself from one of its influential parliamentarians who voiced apparent death threats against opposition figures and other individuals trying to topple Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The wealthy lawmaker, Khachatur Sukiasyan, said on Wednesday that they risk losing their freedom, assets and even lives. He lambasted not only oppositionists but also “many other Armenian citizens” who he claimed “serve other states.”
“Mr. Sukiasyan’s position expressed in an oral speech does not reflect the position of Civil Contract and its parliamentary group,” said the group’s secretary, Artur Hovannisyan.
Hovannisyan, who himself threatened last year to “cut the tongues and ears” of the Armenian government’s detractors, insisted that the party led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is “guided exclusively in a democratic way.”
The main opposition Hayastan bloc was unconvinced by these assurances. The bloc’s parliamentary leader, Seyran Ohanyan, indicated that it will likely lodge a formal complaint with law-enforcement authorities. He said Sukiasyan’s remarks “contained elements” corresponding to some articles of the Armenian Criminal Code.
