Attacks on the Church are Direct Orders Carried Out by the Authorities: Karapetyan

Attempts by the authorities to interfere in the internal affairs of the Armenian Apostolic Church and undermine the spiritual foundations of society have forced the opposition to take active measures. This was stated by the leader of the parliamentary opposition faction 'Strong Armenia' Narek Karapetyan during a conversation with reporters on August 24.

In response to a question about the reasons for the uncompromising protests of the opposition deputies, Karapetyan emphasized that the catalyst for their activism has been the actions of the ruling team. 'The authorities' statements regarding the 'party of war' are ordinary political claims that have no basis. Such things are heard periodically in the political arena; they only provoke surprise, and there is no need to protest for every such statement. However, our protest becomes uncompromising when the political platform is used for attacks on spiritual values and direct interference in the affairs of the Church, which is strictly prohibited by the Constitution. It was the authorities themselves who became the catalyst that dragged us into these political processes,' said Karapetyan.

Responding to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's accusations that the opposition allegedly operates under instructions from Russia, as well as commenting on relations with partners in the 'Armenia' alliance, he called for attention to be paid to the real agenda of the authorities and for political correctness to be maintained. 'The attack on the Church is a direct order they are executing. To understand whose instructions the current authorities are following, it is enough to enter X and see the publications of the Azerbaijani leadership. It will become clear what representatives of the Armenian authorities will be talking about a week later. We categorically reject the agendas that are being imposed on our country by a state that raises its generations in the spirit of animosity towards Armenians,' concluded Narek Karapetyan.