Nikol Pashinyan: What Happened in Armenia Was Not a 'Color Revolution'

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, gave an interview to the German weekly 'Die Zeit', where he discussed the Velvet Revolution that took place in Armenia. The Prime Minister emphasized that what happened in Armenia was unique.

“From the very beginning of our movement, the most important symbol was our raised hands. This characterized our intentions — even if the government used force, we would not respond with violence,” Pashinyan stated.

He ruled out that violence could ever be justified in any situation. “Excluding violence has been and remains our conviction. We want to eliminate violence in Armenia,” Pashinyan said.

When asked whether a leader is necessary to achieve success, Pashinyan replied that his greatest contribution was declaring that he is not a leader. “From that moment, our movement decentralized and began to grow. This complicated the task for the government and police to control and stop us. We set only a few conditions for our followers. We said that all actions must be non-violent, and there can be no manifestations of hatred. Our true leaders in the revolution were our citizens,” emphasized the Prime Minister.

Addressing the question of why positive changes should occur in Armenia, especially when the situation in countries in Eastern Europe has not improved much after their 'color revolutions', Pashinyan responded that what happened in Armenia was not a 'color revolution'. The Prime Minister highlighted that they were not connected to any foreign powers.

“It was a pure internal process, not a political game. Only the citizens of Armenia who desire a better future were involved in our revolution,” he stressed.