“The agenda of tomorrow’s special [Parliamentary] sitting is clear․ We have demanded an extraordinary sitting for the National Assembly to make a statement. We have published the text of the statement several times, these are all the red lines, these are the principles by which any pro-Armenian government should be guided,” said the representative of the ARF Supreme Body and the Parliament’s Vice President, Ishkhan Saghatelyan in a conversation with Yerevan Today.
“They have been saying for a month that the opposition has no agenda, does not come to the parliament, is afraid, has nothing to say, and that the goal of the opposition street protests are not Artsakh and Armenia, but coming to power,” added Saghatelyan, in response to pro-Pashinyan lawmakers assertions.
In response to the question of what will happen if the pro-Pashinyan parliament members do not come to the parliament tomorrow, Saghatelyan answered that “tomorrow’s course is very important, whether they participate or not, our two factions [in reference to opposition “Hayastan” and “Pativ Unem” factions] will be present. They [pro-government parliamentarians] still have a chance and time to correct themselves, to come to their senses, to participate, because the issues related to the vital interests of the country in a parliamentary country cannot be avoided in the parliament and the political majority can not run away. The political majority is running away because it has nothing to say. What can it say? This is a watershed moment in the sense that we will advance the struggle more sharply, because those people [pro-government parliamentarians] are clearly stating, officially, that they have nothing to do with the interests of Armenia, Artsakh, or the Armenian people. ”
“A deputy [parliament member] is a political position; he/she bears personal responsibility. It is very important for us these days to understand personally. Now, in my opinion, not all the deputies of the Civil Contract Party will share the responsibility of betrayal, this is also a chance for them to decide to separate from Nikol. We understand the level of their fear, we understand that this position is costly for them, but the nation is on the opposite side,” added Saghatelyan.
“There are deputies there whose ‘fate’ and the reasons for their behavior are known, they have no other option. I am speaking about 10-12 persons, but the others should ask themselves why are they the bearers of this this burden and responsibility. I have the impression that they are in captivity [by Pashinyan],” Saghatelyan noted.
In regards to the ongoing border commissions working on fixing the borders between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Saghatelyan added that “the work of that commission should be stopped as long as the enemy troops are in the sovereign territory of Armenia. But the [Armenian] government is on its knees, it has signed a capitulation. In general, it is ready to make any concessions in order to keep its power. We are not against delimitation and demarcation, but it can not be under the threat of force.”
