If Pashinyan Dismisses Onik Gasparyan, the Army, According to My Information, Will Not Comply: Vazgen Manukyan

If Nikol Pashinyan illegally signs a decree dismissing Onik Gasparyan from his position, according to my information, the army will not comply with it. This was stated today, March 3, during a conversation with reporters on Baghramyan Avenue by Vazgen Manukyan, the prime ministerial candidate from the "Homeland Salvation Movement."

"The army understands that this is not a matter of a person. Onik Gasparyan is one of those honest individuals for whom the position is not important; the issue of the army is being resolved here. They may promise him positions and so on, but if he leaves, it means he will allow the commanders of all brigades to be changed, the entire military force to be undermined, just as Nikol Pashinyan did in the early days of his rule by seeking corruption and interfering with the army. The reality is that they will not comply anyway, and if they do, it will mean that Armen Sarkisyan is destroying the army with his signature," said Vazgen Manukyan.

He emphasized that illegal orders should certainly not be obeyed. "The president said he would not sign the decree and is sending some law to the Constitutional Court. But this does not mean that he won’t send any other documents to the Constitutional Court. He may also send several documents that include issues related to Onik Gasparyan. I haven’t heard any lawyer say that this decree is constitutional. It is clearly stated in the Constitution that the Chief of Staff is appointed for a certain period, and no one can dismiss him during that time unless he commits a criminal offense. The law states that this term is 5 years. Thus, it is immediately clear that the decree is unconstitutional."

Vazgen Manukyan expressed the belief that Nikol Pashinyan has exerted pressure on the President of Armenia. "But that is my internal conviction; I do not have internal information," he added.