Vazgen Manukyan Issues Statement

On March 17, the Administrative Court of Armenia approved the application of the Chief of the General Staff of the RA Armed Forces, Onik Gasparyan, allowing him to continue in his position until a final ruling is made by the court.

“Today, the Prime Minister's office, lacking any jurisdiction to clarify the court's ruling, stated that Onik Gasparyan has been relieved of his duties as the Chief of the RA Armed Forces General Staff, and the process of appointing a new Chief of the RA Armed Forces General Staff is ongoing in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Part 2 of Article 139 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia. The Prime Minister's office's 'clarification' is simply a call to disregard the court's ruling, which is a punishable offense under criminal law. In this regard, the Prosecutor's Office of Armenia is obliged to initiate a criminal case.

Pashinyan and his administration once again place themselves beyond the Constitution and the law with this action, delivering yet another blow to the constitutional order of the country. In the created situation, we call upon the Armenian armed forces to strictly adhere to the law as per the court's decision, to reject any illegal orders, and to continue fulfilling their constitutional mission. If the Prosecutor's Office fails to initiate criminal proceedings, and Pashinyan's administration continues its anti-state and illegal actions, the Movement will take all necessary steps appropriate to the situation,” reads the statement issued by Vazgen Manukyan, the candidate for Prime Minister from the Homeland Salvation Movement.