Onik Gasparyan Did Not Follow the Prime Minister's Order: 'Hraparak'

'Hraparak' newspaper reports: 'In the March 1 case, the most serious accusation against Robert Kocharyan is that he moved the army to manage domestic political processes. Our reliable source from the Ministry of Defense informs us that a few days ago, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan contacted the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, Onik Gasparyan, and instructed him to keep the army on standby to deploy in the city at his command. Gasparyan inquired what the purpose was. He was told it was to protect special security facilities. Onik Gasparyan responded, stating, 'As long as I am the Chief of the General Staff, the army will not interfere in domestic political processes and will not be deployed in the city.' This ended their conversation, after which Gasparyan contacted Minister of Defense Vagharshak Harutyunyan, informing him of their discussion and requesting that if the Prime Minister approaches him with the same question, he hear the same response from the Minister of Defense. The Minister promised to speak with the Prime Minister.'