Pashinyan links opposition to disinformation, vows political defeat

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan used a parliamentary session to sharply criticise Armenia’s opposition, accusing former ruling forces of spreading disinformation and attempting to undermine the country’s peace agenda. He also said his government was taking steps to prevent what he called the “three-headed party of war” from returning to parliament.

“Revising peace is the main and key task of the ‘three-headed party of war,’ formed from representatives of former authorities,” Pashinyan said during his address to lawmaker, Caliber.Az reports, citing Armenian media.

‘Now they have started a new panic. At one point they were saying that our army..., that we are defenseless, that our borders... We said: ‘Fine, we will show (the acquired weaponry) to the public.’ And now they are shouting: what is this, why are they going to show it? No, they will not show it. No, they will show something else. Why are you showing the new, show the old, and so on.

Why are you panicking?

We are showing it in order to finally respond in a clear way to all your false statements related to public debt.

We are also showing it so that it becomes another factor ensuring that you — the ‘Armenia’ bloc, ‘Strong RPA’ and ‘Prosperous Armenia’ — do not enter parliament. So that you do not gain the necessary number of votes to become parliamentary parties.

Because a political force that tries to plunge the people into chaos through such brazen hybrid disinformation cannot end up in parliament again.

I am telling you seriously, dear colleagues. If in our public discourse there is a thought that they could enter parliament, that is a lack of respect toward the citizens of the Republic of Armenia. A lack of respect!!! Whoever thinks that these three political forces can enter parliament is showing disrespect toward the citizens of the Republic of Armenia,” Pashinyan said.

Pashinyan added that government disclosures, including demonstrations of acquired weaponry, were intended both to counter what he described as false claims regarding public debt and to influence the political prospects of opposition blocs.

By Vafa Guliyeva