Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Thursday ordered law-enforcement authorities to clamp down on groups which he said are advocating political violence in Armenia as part of a “hybrid war” waged against his government.
Opening a weekly cabinet meeting in Yerevan, Pashinian said that “forces directly or indirectly connected to the former corrupt system” are among those who are trying to destabilize the political situation in the country.
“We have operational information that a section of those circles has decided to form groups of people dressed in black that will walk around the city, try to create a certain mood, distinguish themselves with some impudent actions and so on,” he told government ministers.
Armenia’s police and National Security Service (NSS) must take “very tough” action against such groups as well as any calls for violence, said Pashinian. “As regards those groups dressed in black, you have to locate them, sort out their black clothes, attach colorful bow ties to them, and escort them to a normal, civilized and lawful life,” he add, appealing to the heads of both law-enforcement bodies present at the cabinet meeting.
The national police chief, Valeri Osipian, and the NSS director, Artur Vanetsian, assured Pashinian that they will execute the order. Osipian told reporters afterwards that he has already issued relevant instructions to his subordinates. But he refused to give any details.
Armenia -- Police chief Valeri Osipian (L) and National Security Service director Artur Vanetsian attend a cabinet meeting in Yerevan June 6, 2019.
Pashinian also accused the same allegedly subversive forces of spreading “disinformation” that the government has scrapped tuition fee discounts for university students who participated in the April 2016 war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“It’s the same people and the same circles,” he said. “And this is really a national security issue, Mr. Vanetsian. Those people are waging a hybrid war against the Republic of Armenia.”
“Should these scoundrels feel good in this country?” the prime minister went on. “They must walk under sidewalks, wearing camouflage. Who do they think they are?”
Although Pashinian said that “their names and surnames are known,” he did not name anyone.
His comments prompted sarcastic responses from several prominent members of the former ruling Republican Party (HHK) and other bitter critics of the current government. They posted on Facebook pictures of themselves wearing only black clothes. “Before arrest,” HHK spokesman Eduard Sharmazanov wrote under his photo.
On Wednesday, Pashinian lambasted the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) for justifying a violent attack on a young activist of a rival party. “All those individuals who propagate violence must be held accountable,” he said.
Dashnaktsutyun representatives accused the activist of insulting Nagorno-Karabakh’s leaders and assaulting a veteran Dashnaktsutyun figure. They also claimed that the authorities are turning a blind eye to their supporters’ violent actions and hate speech.
Dashnaktsutyun was part of Armenia’s former government from 2016-2018. It also two received two ministerial posts in Pashinian’s first cabinet formed following last spring’s “velvet revolution.” Pashinian sacked his Dashnaktsutyun-affiliated ministers in October, accusing their party of secretly collaborating with the former regime.