What a Political Figure and a Man Should Not Be: Levon Kocharyan on Edmon Marukyan

Joining the diplomatic front of Armenia has raised concerns among representatives of our hostile neighboring country in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as Robert Kocharyan and his satellites. This was stated by Special Envoy Edmon Marukyan on his Facebook page.

“This morning I noticed that I had received numerous messages. Users are writing, they say that Channel 5, belonging to Robert Kocharyan, has prepared a report featuring excerpts from my speeches, clips of parliamentary debates between me and Nikol Pashinyan, me and Alen Simonyan, me and Sasun Mikayelyan, segments cut out of context, supposedly creating a terrible video that they joyfully disseminate. Their reports and materials have even invaded my home,” Marukyan wrote.

“First, let me remind that we have nothing to hide; our activities have always been open and transparent, visible to everyone—people have seen everything without context being altered and broadcast live. Therefore, I want to ask Channel 5: can you also prepare reports on these topics - how the events of October 27 were organized, where the elected leaders of the people were assassinated in parliament, how and under whose orders a citizen named Poghos Poghosyan was killed with the involvement of Kocharyan’s security personnel, how the Prosecutor General was assassinated in his office, how known political figures opposing the government were killed before 2008, and how peaceful protesters were murdered on March 1 in Yerevan?”

“You can also prepare reports on more positive topics. For example, in the West, it is customary for successful individuals to share their success stories on air. I suggest that your owner’s sons come and tell live how they became dollar millionaires at such a young age. Our children will watch and learn from this success story. There are many topics; I will gradually propose new reporting themes if you prepare on these subjects,” Marukyan concluded.

In response to Edmon Marukyan's post, Levon Kocharyan, the son of second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, wrote: “A person is caught red-handed in lies and clientelism with specific facts, recordings, and what does he reply? He goes on about October 27, March 1, Paplavok, Kocharyan’s sons, grandsons… Do you realize what a level of self-destruction a person must reach to try to divert attention from his classic political prostitution with well-known and long-discredited allegations?”

“The only question that perhaps remains unanswered is about the grandsons, and I think there is a need for clarification here. Among my parents’ six grandchildren, only the birth of two took place abroad, and only one in the U.S.; therefore, only one of the six has citizenship in addition to Armenian citizenship. My children being born abroad is exclusively the decision of my wife and me, which has personal reasons, and the purpose is absolutely not to acquire another citizenship. In 2014, when my son was born, I was the first to apply to the Armenian consulate for a passport to ensure that he enters Armenia with an Armenian passport, as an Armenian citizen, so that no one would think that being born abroad could have been intended to avoid military service. Patriotism is measured not by birthplace but by many, many other actions of a person. Let’s hope that this individual undertaking special assignments becomes a unique example of what a political figure and a man should not be,” Kocharyan wrote.