Ultranationalist party vows to take revenge on Armenian PM

The Armenian ultranationalist left-wing party Dashnaktsutyun's [also known as the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutyun, ARFD] central committee in Western Europe has pledged to take revenge on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

The committee made the remarks in a statement condemning the ban on entry to Armenia of the ARFD Bureau member, co-chairman of the coordinating council of Armenian Organizations of France, Murad Papazyan, Caliber.Az reports quoting the Armenian media.

"He [Papazyan] found out about the ban upon arrival at Yerevan airport. He was not provided with any official explanations. And this ban is a demonstration of the position regarding Dashnaktsutyun. However, this position, reminiscent of the junta's behaviour in the days of [former Armenian President] Levon Ter–Petrosyan, will not go unanswered in legal terms," the party said.

Earlier, Papazyan said that he was banned from entering Armenia. He stated that this was done on the personal instructions of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. A member of the ARFD Bureau arrived in Yerevan last night, but he was detained at the airport, his passport was taken away, and then escorted to a plane bound for France.

The Armenian police stated that they had not taken any action against Papazyan. It has no other information about the situation related to it.

Dashnaktsutyun was founded in 1890. Today the party operates in Armenia and in countries where the Armenian diaspora is present, including the United States. ANCA, which is the U.S. branch of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF), unites the most radical nationalists building up hatred towards Azerbaijan and Türkiye as a way to ensure political and financial support for themselves.