Video: "Zareh Sinanyan Called Armenian Protesters Hooligans" - Details on the Incident

During a meeting with the Armenian community in Los Angeles, the Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs, Zareh Sinanyan, acknowledged that Artsakh cannot be part of Azerbaijan. This was stated by Vigen Sosikyan, a representative of the Armenian community in the United States and a participant in the protest, in an interview with NEWS.am.

“Zareh Sinanyan's visit was kept secret from the Armenian community; we were not informed of the meeting in advance. We unexpectedly found out that he was in Chicago and was supposed to come to Los Angeles to meet with the Armenian community. After that, community representatives gathered in the hall for the meeting. As soon as Zareh Sinanyan entered the room, we expressed our dissatisfaction with him and his government's anti-Armenian policy. The organizers of the meeting made quite harsh and vulgar statements towards us, trying to disrupt our initiative. There was even a scuffle, but the protesters were very restrained and left the hall,” Sosikyan noted.

According to Vigen Sosikyan, after the protesters left the hall, only 15 Armenians remained for the meeting with Sinanyan. “Moreover, some of those 15 Armenians were the very organizers of the meeting. Meanwhile, in 2018, thousands of Armenians welcomed the Minister of Diaspora, Mikayel Hayrapetyan, in the same hall. This is evidence that this government has long lost the respect and authority of Armenians,” Sosikyan remarked.

The participant of the protest stated that shortly after exiting the hall, he decided to return to ask Zareh Sinanyan whether Artsakh could be part of Azerbaijan. “I waited for about 15 minutes to ask my question, and during that time, there was no mention of Artsakh; it was as if that was not our urgent issue. Instead, Zareh Sinanyan called the Armenian protesters hooligans. I asked him, ‘Zareh, is it true that Artsakh should be part of Azerbaijan, or not?’ He tried to evade the question in various ways, saying that no Armenian would want Artsakh to be part of Azerbaijan. I asked again, ‘So for you, then Artsakh should not be part of Azerbaijan either?’ and he agreed. This is a serious deviation from Nikol's position. It indicates that Sinanyan said this either under pressure, or he truly thinks so, and gaps have emerged between him and Nikol Pashinyan,” Sosikyan told the media.

Earlier, it was reported that the meeting of the Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs of Armenia, Zareh Sinanyan, with the Armenian community in Los Angeles had collapsed. A video posted online shows participants chanting "Zareh the Traitor" as Sinanyan enters the auditorium. The situation escalated as attendees chanted, "Artsakh is Armenian, Nikol is Turkish," "Nikol, Turkish," "Nikol, Traitor," and "Zareh, Traitor." During this, Zareh Sinanyan left the room.