Levon Ter-Petrosyan: I Fully Understand the Indignation of the Military High Command

The first President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, has issued a statement regarding the General Staff's declaration calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation.

"I fully understand the indignation of the military high command and the army's position concerning interference in political processes beyond its jurisdiction, which was caused solely by the Prime Minister's reckless attempt to blame the army for his humiliating defeat. Nevertheless, I want to commend the military's restrained behavior in response to calls and provocations from certain forces to engage in unconstitutional actions. I regard such conduct as an exemplary manifestation of state-mindedness from the military leadership and an honorable effort to spare the country from destructive shocks, which deserves our entire nation's sincere gratitude.

At the same time, I consider it extremely dangerous and reprehensible that some political figures irresponsibly present a military coup as a positive means of state revitalization, justifying it by successful examples recorded in certain countries (South Korea, Egypt). While such examples do exist, there are ten times more instances where coups, becoming periodic, have led to the complete destruction of statehood and long-lasting suffering for people (Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Nicaragua, etc.).

Therefore, it is the duty of all Armenians to be guided solely by this awareness and to do everything possible to ensure that Armenia does not join the ranks of the aforementioned countries."