As Armenia navigates a new phase in its domestic and foreign policy, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s recent visit to Türkiye and the rising tensions with the Armenian Church have sparked intense debates. In this interview with The Caspian Post renowned Armenian journalist Natali Aleksanyan shares her insights on the current political atmosphere in Yerevan, the controversial arrest of businessman Samvel Karapetyan, and the role of the Karabakh resettlers in internal Armenian developments.
Source: News.Am
- How do you assess Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit to Türkiye?
- Pashinyan’s working visit to Türkiye was, in itself, an unprecedented event - something that would have been unthinkable just a year ago. It is important to note that in addition to his meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Prime Minister also visited cultural centers in Istanbul and met with representatives of the local Armenian diaspora.
Judging by the statements made during that meeting, Pashinyan appeared serious and fully prepared to discuss key regional issues with the Turkish leader - including the possible opening of a transport corridor through Armenian territory.
Although no concrete agreements have been announced and both sides have limited themselves to formal language, I believe there are real plans behind these statements. Their implementation is only a matter of time.
Photo credit: Turkish Presidency via AP
- A scandal is unfolding in Armenia surrounding Pashinyan’s accusations against Catholicos Garegin II. What is your opinion on this?
- Catholicos Garegin II and the bishops close to him pose a threat to Armenian statehood. They act as warmongers and are among the chief promoters of a fascist-leaning ideology within the country. Moreover, many of the senior church hierarchs are implicated in criminal cases - which is empirically evident - and are in violation of canonical law. These self-proclaimed "bearers of the word of God" actually spread hateful rhetoric, turning the church into a closed radical sect engaged, among other things, in illegal business activities.
Nikol Pashinyan recognizes this threat and is attempting to counter it. However, the approach he has chosen is unlikely to succeed. Trying to remove the Catholicos by force is doomed to fail, as the other hierarchs would not accept such a move. That would require purging the entire top leadership, which is virtually impossible.
In my view, Pashinyan's only viable option is to revise the Constitution, which currently grants the Church a special status. This constitutional clause is Garegin’s main source of protection.
- Recently, a court in Armenia ordered the arrest of Russian-Armenian businessman Samvel Karapetyan, sparking public discontent. How much of a threat does Karapetyan pose to the Armenian authorities that would justify his arrest?
- Karapetyan issued a direct threat against Armenia’s legitimate authorities. Given the tragic events of the past - particularly the terrorist attack that eliminated part of the country’s political elite - I believe his arrest is fully justified. It is noteworthy that Catholicos Garegin II was appointed on the very day of that attack - October 27, 1999. Today, Karapetyan is threatening Pashinyan in defense of Garegin.
In this context, the Prime Minister’s actions to defend the Armenian state are entirely legitimate.
- Recently, displaced persons from Karabakh held protests in front of the Armenian government building, demanding continued financial support and the construction of social housing. Do you believe the government is addressing the needs of the refugees, or are these protests part of a larger effort to destabilize the situation?
- At the rallies you mentioned, the Karabakh Armenians used housing issues merely as a pretext to take to the streets and undermine Nikol Pashinyan’s position. In reality, the government is addressing their social and economic challenges quite effectively. In fact, their situation is often better than that of many other Armenian citizens facing similar difficulties.
Against this backdrop, their so-called protests appear hypocritical and ungrateful - and that is exactly how Armenian society perceives them. There is clearly an external force behind these actions, steering them toward confrontation with the legitimate authorities.
Much like the Catholicos, the Karabakh Armenians in this context are merely tools in the hands of those interested in destabilization and the continuation of conflict.
