My First Fear of Nikol Pashinyan: Tatoul Hakobyan

The founder of the Armenian Studies ANNI Center, Tatoul Hakobyan, wrote on his Facebook page:

With a fresh mind and bitter coffee
My first fear of Nikol Pashinyan
"Jesus Christ is an ideal for me, he is my relative, my identity, my soul, my heart, my mind; I live through Jesus Christ." These words, said by the Prime Minister of Armenia during his last press conference, reminded me of the fall of 2019, Milan, Italy.

That was the day when three Azerbaijanis entered the Armenian church in Milan and asked a question to Nikol Pashinyan. But for me, that day is etched in memory for a completely different reason. Among several lectures in European countries, that evening I was scheduled to speak at the "Armenian House" center in Milan on the topic, "What has changed and what has not in Armenia since the Velvet Revolution." I arrived in Milan from Paris before noon and, naturally, upon learning that the Prime Minister of Armenia was going to speak at the Armenian church right after noon, I could not miss the opportunity.

That day, I was afraid of Nikol Pashinyan for the first time. Of course, I have known Mr. Pashinyan for quite a long time, he has known me since the 90s during our university years. I was afraid of his speech, more precisely, the part where the Prime Minister of Armenia was interpreting the Bible. The Velvet Revolution had infected him with a disease that has no name but has a diagnosis: a person considers himself a messiah, an apostle, infallible, the chosen one of the nation, an irreplaceable leader.

That is what frightened me, and I have often shared this concern with friends in my circle. Naturally, I do not question anyone's, including the Prime Minister of Armenia's, public claim to love Christ, live Christ-like, and believe in God, but his speech in the Milan church frightened me.

Today, since he was elected Prime Minister, following Mr. Pashinyan's public speeches and adopted policies, I see that he is unfortunately suffering from the symptoms of infallibility. He is convinced that everything he does is correct and everything he says is right, even when he expresses diametrically opposite texts on the same subject.

When he was taking a "historical selfie" and kissing the cross presented by the Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians, for Pashinyan, he was Garegin II; today, when he stubbornly intends to remove Garegin II from the Mother See, for him, he is no longer Ktrich Nersisyan.

When he was dancing in Shushi with his beloved people, for Mr. Pashinyan, "Artsakh was Armenia, and that's it." After the disastrous defeat, for which he is the number one responsible and one of the culprits, but not the only one, the Prime Minister refers to Shushi as a "dull and unfortunate city." This series can go on endlessly, and Mr. Pashinyan is the most consistently inconsistent state and political figure I have ever known. And you never know which viewpoint and statement he will choose to quote on the same issue," wrote Tatoul Hakobyan.