After Armenian security authorities raided the office of the Artsakh representation in Yerevan on Friday, seizing a car belonging to Artsakh President Samvel Shahramanyan, four factions represented in the Artsakh parliament issued a terse statement condemning the Armenian government for its “targeting” of Artsakh Armenians.
“The incident that took place in the area of the Artsakh representative office in Armenia on June 21 highlighted the fact that the current authorities of Armenia have crossed the line of both legal and moral values,” the statement said.
“This kind of treatment toward Artsakh is a continuation of the repressions carried out [in Yerevan] a few days ago, on June 21, which proves that for the sake of maintaining power, they are ready to violate the country’s Constitution and, using disproportionate force and special measures against their own people, they have hindered the democracy of the Republic of Armenia and its commitment to a state operating under the rule of law. Such incidents are unacceptable and strictly condemnable for us,” added the statement.
“The authorities of the Republic of Armenia have been targeting various groups and individuals form Artsakh under the guise of democracy for a while now, applying repression, discriminatory treatment against them, using the divisive vocabulary of ‘from Armenia-from Karabakh,’” the Artsakh parliamentary factions explained.
“Under such conditions, we consider it appropriate to send a word of gratitude to the thousands of our compatriots in the Republic of Armenia who, by ignoring the artificially created dividing lines, have done everything to ease the moral-psychological and physical pain of Artsakh Armenians during the past nine months—during the difficult days for us,” the statement said.
“All those actions, statements, and speeches that undermine public solidarity and insult the dignity of Artsakh’s Armenians, which are manifested not only through real or fake users widely spread on social networks, but also from the podium of Armenia’s National Assembly, voiced by representatives of the ruling party, are dangerous and unacceptable,” the statement emphasized.
“The struggle for the homeland and national dignity is the inalienable right of every citizen, of all peoples, so we demand that the authorities of the Republic of Armenia refrain from insidious and dangerous manifestations of sowing violence, hatred, and enmity,” the statement said.