The BHK was a straightjacket for me: Gevorg Petrosyan

I have left the BHK faction not due to any personal issues with Gagik Tsarukyan, but because I am a rebellious person, and my political activism has often been viewed as excessive, which has also affected the BHK. There have been unhealthy tensions within the party. I did not take the mandate to please anyone; I represent the people and stand with targeted and severe criticisms, which evoked inexplicable anxiety within my party.

This opinion was expressed by Armenian National Assembly Deputy Gevorg Petrosyan during the "#OraKhndir" program on ArmNews. "For me, being in the party was a straightjacket; I was trying to do more. I have not spoken to Tsarukyan, I did not coordinate anything in advance. Our faction's secretary was approached by the authorities who said that some people are crossing red lines, referring to me, and the secretary conveyed that to me. I have a principle by which I operate— the interests of the state are paramount over the interests of the party," the opposition figure stated.

According to Petrosyan, being in the faction has constrained his freedom, and he was told that for every speech he made, Tsarukyan was summoned by the National Security Service, whereas now he is free from that burden. "My political activism has not violated any laws. They are the ones who have crossed the red line— those who are squandering Artsakh, those accused of state treason, those who have brought the country to the brink of social disaster, and those who embezzle the state budget at the citizen's expense. Previously, I left the BHK once of my own accord, was removed a second time, and now I am leaving again of my own accord. The party is not a woman to marry; there is no law that states a deputy must serve the interests of the party," the independent deputy noted.

In Petrosyan's opinion, Nikol Pashinyan today says that border villages should be privileged, while the village heads are preserving the borders with their relatives. "These people are burning their homes, is this a privilege? Nikol, why did you go to Gyumri? You and your supporters should have been hit not with eggs but with shish kebabs. Forgetting the loss of so many children and the country's rapid decline, how can they defend him? The incompetent Nikol should go to guard the border, not just ensure the safety of his own residence," Gevorg Petrosyan claimed.

According to him, those justifying Pashinyan are sharing in the state's treason, and they are being brought to small gatherings with administrative resources. "If you are confident in yourself, walk around the city without bodyguards, Nikol. One of your teammates says, ‘You are blocking the path of the Minister of Defense,’ isn’t he a social protection minister? Is that something to say? Now a change of power is happening, and the vast majority of the people are spitting in their faces; it remains to give it a legal formulation. The value and mission of political forces is to implement the will of the majority of the people," concluded Gevorg Petrosyan.