A Coup Attempt is Being Made to Maintain Araik Harutyunyan's Power in Artsakh - Metakse Hakobyan

In Artsakh, there are attempts to create a storm in a glass, and the organizer is President Araik Harutyunyan. This viewpoint was expressed by Metakse Hakobyan, the secretary of the 'Justice' faction of the Artsakh parliament, during a conversation with Tert.am regarding the recent uneasy political atmosphere in Artsakh.

The opposition MP stated that if she were not involved in politics, she might believe in the spontaneous manifestations of certain individuals in Artsakh, but she assures that what is happening is a well-organized process, and there is a precedent for it.

Hakobyan recalls that a similar situation also occurred in January. 'At that time, news circulated through the supporters of the country’s president about his resignation. It was claimed to be a spontaneous action at the Youth Palace, but in reality, it was a show. I must note that after that news, merely an exchange of positions took place, and thereafter tensions calmed down. Since January, Araik Harutyunyan is still president,' noted the MP.

According to her, seeing that such technologies work, Harutyunyan is repeating the same scenario again. The opposition figure is convinced that by applying different technologies, Harutyunyan is doing everything to maintain his chair.

'Now the same scenario is being applied, only the actors have changed. The main actor remains the same, while others have changed, in this case, the commander of the local forces, Karen Matevosyan. One person created that chaos. In reality, there is no chaos for those political forces that remain sober and have not changed their positions since 2018; they have been trying to convince the Artsakh president for three years that the issue is not about individuals, but the actors need to change to make a break in the Artsakh issue possible,' added our interlocutor.

According to the 'Justice' faction’s secretary, what is happening in Artsakh these days is an absolute demonstration of compliance with Azerbaijan's demands and maintaining power.

Responding to the question about whether Araik Harutyunyan's close associate, the head of the local forces group, Karen Matevosyan, is being directed from Armenia, the Artsakhi politician responded: 'One thing is clear, that Harutyunyan does not take any steps without agreeing with the Prime Minister of Armenia. There is a coordinated plan being implemented here. It is not new that the Armenian authorities have been taking steps here since 2018; they have created projects in Artsakh that are now very much activated. This is not an exception either.'

Metakse Hakobyan shares the view that Pashinyan is trying to package the surrender of Artsakh in such a way that he does not have any share of the blame. She is surprised that there are forces among them that are going down the path of surrendering Artsakh.

'It is evident that an attempt at a coup is being made in Artsakh, but for the first time, it will be a precedent where a coup is being orchestrated to keep the president in power, not trying to solve any other issues or have any other objectives. They are also trying to remove sober forces from the field,' she expressed certainty.

Regarding the alarm signals coming from Artsakh that Araik Harutyunyan intends to import food from Aghdam in the near future, Hakobyan stated that first and foremost, internal governance has collapsed; there is a stratum that has no issues, while others are deprived of bread for days.

'One of Araik Harutyunyan's loudspeakers hinted that soon all of this will come to an end. When you analyze, it becomes clear that nothing has been done for food to legally enter Artsakh; the cargos are still on the Kornidzor road. They are already seeing the people's reactions. I cannot imagine what will happen if anyone tries to import goods from Aghdam into Artsakh,' concluded the opposition MP.