Event: the creation of the Sasna Tsrer party, which announced its participation in the early parliamentary elections in Armenia. On July 17, 2016, a group of armed men calling themselves “Sasna Tsrer” seized the territory of the Police Patrol and Checkpoint Service regiment of police in Yerevan, killing three police officers. They held hostages for two weeks, demanding the release of their leader, who was behind bars, the resignation of the president and the government, and then surrendered to the authorities.
After Nikol Pashinyan came to power, most of them got their freedom. The radical terrorists supported the new government and declared that they are creating a party that will probably take part in the re-election of the National Assembly of Armenia initiated by the Prime Minister. The party intends to support the activities of Pashinyan in his efforts to change the political configuration of the country, and seeks to deepen the “revolution”.
Goal: strengthening radical sentiments in society, legalizing radical anti-Russian discourse in the political field of the country.
In his speech, the party coordinator Varudzhan Avetisyan noted that the political force will seek to withdraw from all the allied treaties between Russia and Armenia (EAEU and CSTO), withdraw Russian troops from the country, conduct decommunization, as well as “political and economic lustration”.
Media coverage:
https://www.gazeta.ru/politics/news/2018/09/29/n_12102595.shtml
Direction: state administration
Tools: Parliament, Prime Minister’s resignation
Method: re-election
Reaction of the society: after the victory of the “color revolution” in Armenia, the masses are in a state of “post-revolutionary euphoria”. The new government, headed by Prime Minister Pashinyan, takes advantage of this and carries out a “sweep” of the former elites, reshaping the country’s political landscape “for themselves”. Using the technology of the spiral of silence, they suppress any slightest attempts of oppositional activity, declaring them “counter-revolution and sabotage.”
Radical elements of the Armenian society, which act as a “ram” against those who show discontent and are trying to oppose the government with something, are actively helping it.
International reaction: From the very beginning, Russia took a tough stance towards members of the armed group, calling them terrorists, who should be neutralized as soon as possible
“We strongly condemn the armed seizure of the building of the patrol unit of the police in Yerevan on July 17, 2016, which resulted in the death of a law enforcement officer in Armenia. We regard these criminal manifestations as unacceptable, which pose a direct threat to life and safety for the citizens of the republic” said a statement by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Maria Zakharova.
The US and EU embassies expressed a formal disagreement with the methods of the group, but focused on the fact that they are opponents of the authorities.
“Noting with concern the reports on the disproportionate use of force and the mass arrests conducted by the police, we urge the authorities to respect the principle of proportionality. At the same time, demonstrators must refrain from using force actions in the course of exercising their civil rights” the statement of the Armenian representation of the EU noted.
“We are deeply concerned about the ongoing situation with the holding of hostages and urge to immediately, without preconditions, release unharmed those held in captivity from the medical staff and all those who want to leave the territory of the police regiment in Erebuni. We also confirm that threats and violence are unacceptable means for achieving long-term political changes in Armenia. We call on the Armenian government and security forces to observe order in such a way as to ensure the rights of all citizens of the republic to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as well as to ensure fair treatment of all citizens brought to the police and proper execution of legal procedures provided by law” stated the embassy of the USA in Armenia.
What we have achieved: in Armenia, an analogue of the Ukrainian “Right Sector” was created from anti-Russian veterans of the Karabakh war in Armenia, completely similar to them in ideology and practice. In fact, “Sasna Tsrer” became the power wing to suppress opponents of the “revolution of love and harmony”. The statement of the radicals, made on September 29, about the need for immediate dissolution of parliament, including with the use of physical force (“If they resist, just take their hands and legs and throw them out of parliament”) helped push the political decision on re-election of parliament, which was urgently needed by Pashinyan and his team.
