I Am Accused of Something That Is My Duty as President, This Is Absurd: Robert Kocharyan

I am being accused of fulfilling my direct constitutional duties. This was stated by the second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, during a court session regarding an article deemed unconstitutional.

Kocharyan emphasized that he does not wish to delve into legal nuances, but he reiterated what he had stated earlier: the accusatory conclusion was essentially created in a political office.

The former president listed several absurdities contained in the accusatory conclusion. He reminded that, as is well known in jurisprudence, every crime has a motive. “In this case,” he said, “two are mentioned: the desire to preserve the desired power system at any cost and to transfer power to its close associate, Serzh Sargsyan.”

“What does ‘desired power system’ mean? Can anyone explain to me what that means? I do not understand. When I was charged, I told the investigator that I do not understand, and I still do not understand. Could you explain it to me? Even literature and artificial intelligence do not provide answers to this question. The power system is the entirety of state institutions. So, what does ‘desired’ mean? The system of institutions is described in the Constitution,” Kocharyan noted, adding that it can only be changed through a referendum.

Moreover, the former president emphasized that according to the same Constitution, it is the sacred duty of the president to protect the system of state institutions. “It turns out that I am being accused of something that is my duty as president. This is absurd,” he stressed.

Regarding the second part of the accusation, “to transfer power to his close associate, Serzh Sargsyan, at any cost,” the former president noted that the accusatory conclusion does not even state who Sargsyan is. “Neighbor, childhood friend, who is he?” he remarked, recalling that Sargsyan has held various high positions and took over the leadership of the Republican Party after Andranik Margaryan’s death.

“A crime is being committed before our eyes, and I ask that my statement be considered as a report of a crime,” declared Kocharyan, referring to the absurdity of the listed accusations. And what does ‘to transfer power’ mean, Kocharyan asked, reminding that according to the Constitution of Armenia, the new president assumes power not from the previous one, but during a parliamentary session. Moreover, elections are conducted by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), and the accusatory conclusion does not fundamentally question the CEC's decision based on the election results. Thus, it is the outgoing president's duty to ensure that power is transferred to the elected person. There were no other duties involved. “The elections are legal; this is not disputed. So what is the conclusion? I am being accused of fulfilling my duties as president to ensure that power is transferred to the person who has been lawfully elected as president,” stated Kocharyan.

Subsequently, the former president asked the court whether it objected to the publication of data regarding the imposition of a state of emergency and the accusations of “deployment of troops from Artsakh.” The court objected, announced a short recess, after which the session continued behind closed doors.