VIDEO: You Must Cut Off the Tongue that Says 'Artsakh is Azerbaijan' - Father Hovhannes

You must cut off the hand that signed saying 'Artsakh is Azerbaijan.' This was stated today, May 6, during a conversation with reporters by Father Hovhannes Kakhanyan, the former abbot of the Dadivank monastery complex, who joined the march toward Yerevan.

"The Church has always been with the people. Clergy have always been with their spiritual flock. I know the Turks and Azerbaijanis well, I know their handwriting; they will not bring peace, you should know that. They will destroy everything, and since the Russian peacekeepers did not leave, we said 'Artsakh is Azerbaijan', and they no longer had any business there," noted Father Hovhannes.

In response to the observation that it was the Russian peacekeepers' mission to protect the residents in Artsakh, but they did not do so, Father Hovhannes reacted: "The Armenian people should have protected Artsakh. They set three conditions: the first was that we should integrate; living under the Turkish yoke was impossible; the second was war, which was not possible, because Armenia did not guarantee us, it said 'we are your guarantors', but did not stand behind us; and the third was that we should leave and depart. We chose the third option. I do not accept this government, I do not accept the language that says 'Artsakh is Azerbaijan,' that language must be cut off, the hand that signed must be cut off."

It should be noted that members of the 'Tavush for the Homeland' movement, led by the Bishop Bagrat of the Tavush Diocese, opposition MP Garnik Danielyan, and political figure Suren Petrosyan, are continuing their march for the third day, which started today from the intersection of the Sevan Peninsula.