Gagik Tsarukyan Issues Statement

I thank all the people who showed with their presence that there cannot be a unilateral power of one person in our country. This was stated by Gagik Tsarukyan, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia Party.

In the statement, it is noted: "Dear compatriots, sisters, and brothers. I sincerely thank you for the immense human support shown yesterday. I thank all those who, by their presence, demonstrated that there cannot be a unilateral power of one person in our country. I also thank those who have never been my supporter, who have never voted for me, and may have even been my opponents, but seeing the manifest injustice and the simplistic political order of the events did not remain silent and expressed their indignation. What happened is truly very ugly, which is briefly called the fabrication of criminal cases on political orders.

Why is the government resorting to such steps? The answer is very simple. Due to the pandemic, a critically severe situation has arisen in Armenia. Armenia is experiencing a health crisis, the horrific consequences of which our population will still feel. The government is responsible for the tens of thousands of patients and hundreds of deaths, due to its unforgivable irresponsibility and its failure to foresee the dangers. At this moment, the government does not even have a clear strategy; it does not understand the problem in all its depth. It does not know what to do or how to exit the created situation.

Social tension in the country is growing day by day. Thousands of people have been left alone in the face of the infection, and hundreds of thousands are left alone in the face of economic difficulties. Discontent in the country is increasing every hour. And what is the government doing? Instead of finding solutions to the problems and engaging in difficult but real work, it resorts to intimidating its opponents.

The campaign of law enforcement agencies against me and the initiation of criminal cases began days ago, after my well-known speech. Frankly speaking, this was expected for me. But deep in my soul, I had a weak hope that the government would accept the problems raised in my speech as a warning, as a caution from someone who is well aware of the country’s economic situation, would acknowledge its obvious mistakes, and would try to find solutions by rallying all forces.

I am grateful for all the messages of support coming from political and public circles. This is not just my private issue; it is the choice of all of us. The choice is clear: to go down the path of solving the country’s problems intelligently and collectively, or to take the path of intimidating those who talk about these problems. I have already made my choice. Judging by the developments, many have made the same choice. I am ready for any scenario.

I appeal to our citizens: do not be discouraged, do not despair, everything will be alright, we will overcome this crisis, even if the authorities and personally Nikol Pashinyan do everything to worsen the situation.

Today I have only one wish: I want our country to emerge from the created situation, and this government is not capable of doing that. Finally, our country needs to calm down.

Dear compatriots, in conclusion, I want to ask you all to preserve our confidence and will, and I also ask you to always, in every circumstance, adhere to all anti-epidemic rules; your health is above everything for me."