Pashinyan's Visit Threatens 'Opponents': 'Hraparak'

The newspaper 'Hraparak' reports that in almost every city and village, there are people who greet Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with chants of 'Nikol, traitor!' and 'Nikol, Turk,' while others offer 'greetings from Syunik.' To counter this, Pashinyan has resorted to forceful methods, with his escorts physically assaulting those who shout dissenting slogans or calling the police on them. Earlier, amendments were made to the Criminal Code to impose criminal penalties on those obstructing election campaigns, but this has not deterred the public.

Sources inform us that before each visit to a city, employees of the police's sixth division and the National Security Service (NSS) visit potential 'greeters' and threaten that if they 'welcomes' Pashinyan with insults or chants anything, they will be taken to the police station. For instance, prior to his visit to Charentsavan the day before, employees from the sixth division approached anti-Pashinyan individuals and implied that they wouldn't mind greeting Pashinyan, but they were instructed to detain anyone who causes trouble, hence the 'friendly warning' in advance.