Andranik Kocharyan: Is He Mentally Ill Like Some People Who Rapidly Plan to Seize Buildings?

Andranik Kocharyan, a member of the 'My Step' faction of the National Assembly and the chairman of the Standing Committee on Defense and Security, commented on his interview with the 'Liberty' radio station during a press conference with journalists in the parliament. He addressed certain excerpts that had become subjects of manipulation by some media outlets.

"What is the entire essence of state protection? What is the state's problem? The state has given all those structures all the authorities to defend, even to the extent of using firearms. That was the point of discussion. But they manipulated it, turning it into a statement that Andranik Kocharyan said 'fire on the people.' Is Andranik Kocharyan mentally ill like some people who plan to seize buildings at lightning speed? Have you forgotten what has happened in our country before, have we forgotten October 27, have we forgotten the 'Dro Group'? I also want to mention another structure, 'Nemesis.' Those political forces understood very well to whom the conversation was directed. They should get their wits about them. The state cannot allow the destruction of its foundations. That’s all I said. I said yesterday that on March 1, the people did not attack any state buildings. During their peaceful gatherings, the people were subjected to attacks, and Mr. Robert Kocharyan and his legal team are doing everything to prevent the trial from starting, and now linking one thing to another is unacceptable," said Kocharyan.

In response to a question on how he assesses the attack on the media, he answered, "It was very bad, unacceptable, and I noticed that Gegham Manukyan also condemned such manifestations on his Facebook page because by sowing undue animosity and searching for traitors, we are charging the society with very negative energies. Now we need to approach our problems very calmly and correctly," he added, referring to the attack on the filming crew of 'Liberty' radio station that occurred yesterday.

When asked about comments that followed the attack on 'Liberty's' journalist, suggesting that violence against the media also occurred from 'My Step', Kocharyan declined to address the accusations. "Any citizen who enters the comment field cannot perceive whether the person who wrote that comment exists or not because until these fake accounts are regulated, we are essentially operating in a virtual, fake realm, very many of us, and without realizing it, we are engaging with these moods, and getting out of it becomes very difficult. There is one way to do this – we need to simply disconnect from such fakes and re-enter reality to solve our problems," Kocharyan concluded.