Sasna Tsrer on Nikol Pashinyan's Statement

The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, made a significant statement today, May 20, 2019, emphasizing the need for serious reforms within the judicial system, as well as addressing national security threats related to Artsakh. The goals outlined in the statement largely align with the public agenda that has been presented for years, and, in that regard, we welcome them. However, a systematic approach and consistency are necessary to achieve these proposed objectives. First, the process must begin with a legal and political assessment of the activities of the previous regime.

While there were individual elements in the statement, a comprehensive legal-political assessment was not provided, which complicates the accurate diagnosis and full treatment of the national-state organism's ailments. To neutralize national security threats regarding Artsakh, it is insufficient to simply foster intolerance towards the fifth column or take partial actions against some of its representatives.

If the Lavrov plan, thwarted twice during the April four-day war by the selfless bravery of our soldiers and officers, as well as the uprising by Sasna Tsrer, remains on the agenda of the fifth column and they are still prepared to keep their positions at the cost of surrendering liberated territories and separating Artsakh from Armenia through deceitful warfare, then their leading members, including Serzh Sargsyan and Robert Kocharyan, must be immediately isolated from society on charges of creating a criminal conspiracy and through it usurping power, seizing the state, and transforming it into an instrument of their crimes, including state treason.

The transitional justice, which was mentioned as necessary in the Prime Minister's statement, must be holistic and comprehensive, as the crimes committed by the criminal conspiracy that seized power and the state were systemic, encompassing nearly all areas of life, resulting in genocidal consequences and endangering statehood; the range of victims includes almost the entire population. It must cover the entire period of Armenia's independence, as well as all components present in international practices of transitional justice, including criminal justice and political, economic, and agency lustration.

A transitional justice court must be established through a referendum, in the format of a court of sworn attorneys with an investigative component. Cases related to acts of resistance against the usurpation of power, state seizure, state treason, and other major crimes of public-state importance, as well as activities of the criminal conspiracy (October 27, March 1, state terrorism in Berdzor, the agreed-upon war of the April four-day war and other attempts or preparatory actions of surrendering liberated territories, and the uprising of Sasna Tsrer, etc.) must be removed from the jurisdiction of the current law enforcement and judicial bodies and handed over to the Transitional Justice Court. Moreover, the further participation of individuals who previously conducted procedural actions in these cases in their examination must be excluded, and the alleged crimes against justice committed by them during the consideration of these cases must be meticulously investigated.

Currently, the justice system finds itself in a state of legal self-contradiction and absurdity, as it simultaneously examines acts of armed resistance by citizens who attempted to restore the constitutional order during March 1 and the process of surrendering liberated territories, two citizens among them, Smbat Barskyan and Armen Bilyan, are still unjustly imprisoned on fabricated charges.

This absurd phenomenon, which insults national dignity and nullifies the essence of justice, must be immediately halted. Smbat Barskyan and Armen Bilyan cannot remain unjustly imprisoned for years, waiting for transitional justice to reach them and render a legal solution to their cases. The adoption of a new Constitution is also extremely crucial, as all constitutional referendums have been falsified; furthermore, the state governance system formed under today's operational Constitution does not meet the criteria of constitutionalism and democracy.

Partial amendments to the current Constitution, as suggested in the Prime Minister's statement, cannot resolve the issues of legitimacy of the Constitution and effective state governance.

The Sasna Tsrer Pan-Armenian Party Secretariat reaffirms that it is prepared to support the realization of the goals mentioned in the Prime Minister’s statement, given a systematic approach and consistency in accordance with the aforementioned.