Kocharyan, "Hayastan," and the battle for Armenia Pashinyan strikes back

In an effort to boost public trust in himself, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has decided to go all in on every front. Engaging in open confrontation with the Armenian clergy, he has simultaneously declared war on his main political opponents — the leaders of the Karabakh clan.

During a government meeting, the Armenian Prime Minister focused attention on the Hayastan All Armenian Fund, which has repeatedly been involved in various corruption scandals in Armenia.

“In opposition circles, there’s once again talk about funds from the Hayastan All Armenian Fund being embezzled and stolen. Let me remind you that a parliamentary investigative commission was established in the National Assembly, headed by a representative of the opposition. So where is this commission now? Where is the conclusion stating that its work is not continuing? Let them provide an explanation to the public. My apologies, but some bribe-takers come out and talk nonsense. Let’s not name names, although we all understand that we’re talking about Robert Kocharyan. Stole 100 million from the fund? Wasn’t Artsvik Minasyan the head of that investigative commission? Where is their report? Let them write and sign a statement saying that the money was stolen, and then we’ll know what to do next. We’ll take them to court and make them prove otherwise,” Pashinyan said.

The Prime Minister’s emotional remarks directed at his opponents—particularly Robert Kocharyan—are by no means unfounded. But first, a brief look at the activities of the so-called “charitable” Hayastan All-Armenian Fund, considered the largest non-profit organisation in Armenia. It was established in March 1992 by a decree of then-President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, with the aim of uniting Armenians living both in Armenia and abroad who wished to support the development of the separatist entity in Karabakh. This fund, also known as “Himnadram,” has been implicated not only in corruption but also in war crimes committed in Karabakh.

It is worth noting that revealing details about the operations of this notorious organisation were made public in March 2022 in an article titled “What Is Going On at the Armenia Fund?”, published by the American outlet The National Interest.

Interestingly, the article did indeed mention Robert Kocharyan's name in connection with corruption schemes, and it also noted that the funds accumulated by the Himnadram (Hayastan) Foundation were used for Armenia’s military needs during the 44-day war in the autumn of 2020.

“For example, in 2007, Himnadram funded the construction of a windsurfing center in the Kaputak Sevan resort complex on the beaches of Lake Sevan. The resort is coincidentally owned by Bella Kocharyan, former President Robert Kocharyan’s wife. The fund also paid for the acquisition of the required equipment for the facility [...] Himnadram has funded the construction of two highways connecting Armenia and Karabakh: one that runs through the depopulated Azerbaijani districts of Shusha and Lachin, and another that runs through Kalbajar. Several other roads in Karabakh were paved as well, including the North-South Road, which connects the southernmost banks of the Aras River with the Republic of Armenia—and was previously used primarily for drug and arms trafficking,” the article’s author noted.

It is particularly noteworthy that the article exposing these corruption schemes also placed clear political emphasis on the issue of Karabakh:

“Himnadram’s actions in Karabakh, however, are not confined to road construction. As part of the ‘Re-population of the villages of Artsakh’ project, it sponsored illegal resettlement in Karabakh. The fact that repopulation efforts have taken place, particularly in places where Azerbaijanis historically inhabited, indicates that the project was about more than merely providing homes for the homeless: the goal of preventing the return of Azerbaijanis to their homes, creating a new demographic situation on the ground and imposing a fait accompli.”

Moreover, in October 2020, Armenian media reported that the fund had raised more than $10.972 million to support the separatist entity in Karabakh.

Moreover, in 2018–2019, audits conducted by Armenia’s Chamber of Auditors uncovered violations totalling $190,000 at the Hayastan Fund. According to Armenian media, these irregularities were linked to expenses incurred during events commemorating the so-called “100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide.”

Meanwhile, a source of irritation for the opposition is the fact that the Chairman of the Hayastan Fund’s Board of Trustees is a close ally of the Prime Minister—President of the Republic of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan.

However, all this commotion surrounding the fund is merely the tip of the iceberg. Ever since Nikol Pashinyan began actively promoting his "Real Armenia" concept—which recognises that "Karabakh is Azerbaijan"—the opposition and the global Armenian diaspora have, quite literally, risen in outrage. In fact, the Prime Minister spoke about this during yesterday’s session in the Armenian Parliament.

“After the 2021 elections, when we won the parliamentary vote with the slogan ‘There is a future!’, our opposition colleagues tried to turn it into a target for political criticism. But it’s important to reflect on what ‘There is a future!’ actually means. I came to the conclusion that the future is a project. If there is a project, then there is a future. If there isn’t, then there is no future. In this context, the ideology of the ‘Real Armenia’ is both the foundation and the project for the future. There is no future when you don’t know what you’re going to do—when you lack direction. But today, we have a clear direction. Part of it is already visible; for the rest, we need more time,” he said.

Thus, Pashinyan’s statements yesterday can be seen as a firm commitment to continue implementing the “Real Armenia” concept. And that means Armenia’s domestic political landscape is likely to remain turbulent, with tensions continuing to rise.