We have requested a meeting with the President of Lithuania arriving in Armenia tomorrow: Sahakyan

Member of Parliament and representative of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun, Ishkhan Sahakyan, has made a post on his Facebook page indicating that they have sent a letter to the President of Lithuania, who will arrive in Armenia tomorrow.

The post by Ishkhan Sahakyan is as follows:

“Dear compatriots, tomorrow the President of the Republic of Lithuania, Gitanas Nauseda, will arrive in Armenia. Considering the fact that Nikol Pashinyan does not express the will of the Armenian people and is therefore no longer legitimate, we have sent a letter to Mr. Nauseda, proposing to meet with us as well, to present the situation in Armenia and the issues that genuinely concern our people.

Below is the content of the letter:

“Honorable Mr. President,
We have been informed about your visit to the Republic of Armenia. The friendship between Lithuania and Armenia has a history of centuries; the Lithuanian and Armenian peoples were the vanguards of the national-democratic awakening and the struggle for independence in 1988. We fondly remember the attitude of Lithuanians towards the process of Nagorno-Karabakh's independence and the support we received from the people of Lithuania during the Nagorno-Karabakh movement.

Today you are visiting Armenia during a very difficult period for the Armenians. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of the Republic of Armenia are concerned about the regional and internal political agenda created after the 44-day war. For a long time now, together with these citizens, we have been fighting for the restoration of dignity and the preservation of democratic values, voicing our concerns from the streets of Yerevan and from the tent city established in France Square, which your motorcade will pass by.

Unfortunately, your visit to the Republic of Armenia may be perceived and exploited by the Armenian authorities as support for the brutal and anti-democratic policies pursued by the current government. During these days, thousands of our citizens have been detained, subjected to brutal and disproportionate force, and obvious restrictions have been imposed on their rights to free speech, movement, and the right to hold marches and gatherings, as well as the right to peaceful civil disobedience.

We, representatives of the ‘Resistance’ All-Armenian Movement, respectfully draw your attention to the fact that the individuals you are planning to meet during your official visit to Armenia do not represent the will of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia. This particularly pertains to the peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

We genuinely believe that you, as the leader of a democratic state, will consider the opportunity to hear the real demands of the Armenian people. To obtain impartial and comprehensive information regarding the opinions and concerns of Armenians on foreign policy and domestic developments, the deputies of the two opposition factions in the National Assembly express a desire to meet with you personally, Mr. President.

Considering your busy schedule, we are ready to meet with you at any time and place during your visit to Armenia, whether it be at the Lithuanian Embassy in Armenia, France Square, or any other location. By meeting with us, you will have the opportunity to listen to the desires and demands of the hundreds of thousands of Armenians who have been holding protests in the center of Yerevan for almost a month. You will have the chance to see the tent city set up in France Square.

Representatives from the ‘Resistance’ All-Armenian Movement, including opposition deputies Ishkhan Sahakyan, Arthur Vanetsyan, Hayk Mamijanyan, and Aram Vardevanyan, will participate in the meeting.

We are fully convinced that the leader of an EU member state will not justify the police brutality inflicted on his own citizens by the orders of Nikol Pashinyan and will not refuse our request.

We share the same values regarding democracy and human rights, and the mere fact of a meeting with the representatives of the movement will once again underline the importance of our shared vision for the future.”