VIDEO: Vahe Ghazaryan, you know me well. Bishop Bagrat warns the minister

“If there is any form of illegal command, any violence, it will be intolerable, and I will be the first to stand in that group. We will stand in front of you, this people are not a homeless people,” said Bishop Bagrat during a conversation with journalists on the Yerevan-Sevan highway, referring to the possible use of force by law enforcement.

To the question of what will happen to the Church if the movement fails, he replied that now is not the time to discuss that: “Our country is in a catastrophic state, the people are humiliated and insulted, we are imposed and dictated to from everywhere, especially from the enemy side. What do we have left to do? To open your dagger and our neck? Is that it? We have come out simply, peacefully, calmly, with a call for peace, ready to forgive, striving for peace, with a vision of victory.”

When asked if there would be clashes, he answered: “No, why should there be clashes?” The Bishop addressed the law enforcement agencies: “I am saying right now—be patient, use mirrors when you go out of the house and when you return home. If there is any clash, provocation, or anything happens, I hereby officially state that it is their responsibility, and they are to blame. I tell the law enforcement agencies—conduct yourselves within the law, do not use any violence, do not take any illegal actions against your own people. If there is any way, any step, any violence, any illegal command, it will be intolerable, and I will be the first to stand in that group. We will stand in front of you; this people are not a homeless people. You have frightened and horrified them, transferred a feeling of helplessness, and now they have risen and are demanding their rights, demanding their dignity, and are also demanding it for you.”

“Dear law enforcers—NSS, Police—I specifically address Vahe Ghazaryan: Vahe Ghazaryan, we have had lunch together, we have shared bread and salt, I know you well, and you know me too. If any illegal command, provocation occurs, you and your direct superiors will be the ones responsible,” he emphasized.