In recent months, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has exhibited frequent episodes of erratic behavior that raise serious questions about his mental stability. During parliamentary appearances, he screams at those who question him, wildly flailing his arms, and even threatens to jail his political opponents. Such conduct is both bizarre and wholly inappropriate for the head of Armenia\u2019s government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whatever Pashinyan\u2019s mental state was before the Artsakh war, it has clearly deteriorated since the catastrophic defeat Armenia suffered in 2020 under his leadership. Typically, political leaders responsible for disastrous outcomes, generals who suffer major battlefield losses and corporate heads whose mismanagement drives their companies into bankruptcy swiftly resign or are replaced by a more competent person who can take over and do damage control. Regrettably, Pashinyan\u2019s refusal to resign only deepens Armenia\u2019s precarious situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pashinyan displayed another example of his irrational behavior during last week\u2019s cabinet session, when he launched an unprovoked tirade against the Armenian Apostolic Church and its clergy. \u201cI officially say our churches are storage rooms. S-t-o-r-a-g-e-r-o-o-m-s. Inside the church, there are piles of garbage, bags of cement, shoes, old clothes, old bed, leftover materials, and rusty rebar.\u201d This statement constitutes a false and unwarranted attack on the Armenian Church, especially considering that he did not identify a single church in such a condition. The Prime Minister may have seen construction materials that are stored during church renovations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pashinyan\u2019s unnecessary outburst ignited a bitter exchange between himself joined by Anna Hakobyan (his partner, since they are not married), and several clergymen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a series of inappropriate Facebook posts, Pashinyan asserted that \u201call clergymen who have violated their oath of celibacy must leave spiritual service.\u201d This is none of the Prime Minister\u2019s business. His statement clearly oversteps his authority and infringes upon the constitutional separation of church and state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pashinyan then wrote on his Facebook page: \u201cThe Republic of Armenia must have a decisive vote in the election of the Catholicos of All Armenians. Candidates for Catholicos must pass a background check.\u201d This too represents an unwarranted intrusion into the church\u2019s internal affairs, violating the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The dispute worsened when Pashinyan used a shockingly vulgar remark to respond to a bishop who had called his earlier statement \u201cdisgraceful.\u201d Incredibly, the Prime Minister posted on his Facebook page: \u201cSrpazan [Eminence], go back to banging your uncle\u2019s wife, what business do you have with me?\u201d Such language is unbecoming of Armenia\u2019s leader and more appropriate for a street thug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
17 non-governmental organizations issued a joint statement condemning Pashinyan for exploiting women as sexual objects to attack his opponents. In my opinion, what Pashinyan wrote is libelous, providing ample grounds for legal action by the bishop. I have filed a complaint with Facebook against Pashinyan for violating its Community Standards by posting this defamatory statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not to be outdone, Anna Hakobyan, Pashinyan\u2019s partner, escalated the conflict further. On her Facebook page, she proclaimed inappropriately: \u201cThe country\u2019s main pedophiles are demonized by the word \u2018storeroom.\u2019 Of course, that\u2019s how it should be. Aren\u2019t storerooms the dark corners of the lives of black-vested maniacs? After all, it is in storerooms that perversions take place\u2026.\u201d She also lambasted the World Council of Churches conference on Artsakh held last week in Switzerland, which was attended by Catholicos Karekin II and other dignitaries, by asking: \u201cWhat are you doing in Switzerland?\u201d She then ridiculed the efforts to assist Artsakh Armenians: \u201cWhom are you sending securely to their native cradle, whom do you immediately free from captivity? Do you know what spirituality is? That\u2019s news for you. The country\u2019s chief spiritual mafia leader [referring to Catholicos Karekin II] is clearly indignant that a conversation has been opened about storerooms. Otherwise, why would they attack the elected leader of the state?\u201d It appears that Anna was incensed by Catholicos\u2019s attempts to reverse Pashinyan\u2019s surrender of Artsakh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anna Hakobyan then posted a vulgar and libelous statement on Facebook about an Armenian journalist who had criticized her. She wrote: \u201cAccording to reliable information, [journalist] Boris Murazi is providing sexual services to [former President] Serzh Sargsyan and some of his favorite bishops. I have been told about this for several years. I did not believe it. Now it is obvious. I think the relevant agencies already have video recordings in the drawers.\u201d This vicious attack crosses all red lines of morality and decency. Murazi should file a lawsuit for libel. I have already reported her falsehoods to Facebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Had Pashinyan and Hakobyan expressed their disagreements with the Catholicos in a civilized language, it would have been somewhat understandable. However, using such vulgar language is utterly deplorable. Over the years, I have engaged in numerous disagreements with various high-ranking clergymen and former and current political leaders of Armenia, but I have never resorted to using abusive language. One can disagree without being disagreeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pashinyan ascended to power in 2018 by falsely assuring the Armenian public that he would lead a movement for \u201clove and tolerance.\u201d Yet, seven years later, it is evident that he has done the exact opposite. He has abused his authority to spread hatred and intolerance. Azerbaijan\u2019s media gleefully reported the Prime Minister\u2019s attacks on the Armenian Church, aligning him with Pres. Ilham Aliyev and Allahshukur Pashazade, the Grand Mufti of Azerbaijan, in their denunciation of the Church.Ultimately, Pashinyan and his partner appear to use these vulgar statements to divert the public\u2019s attention from the regime\u2019s array of damaging, anti-Armenian policies. After ceding Armenian control of Artsakh and parts of the Republic of Armenia to Azerbaijan and attacking the sacred symbols of Armenia\u2019s statehood, this couple is now intent on undermining the 1,700-year-old religious institution that is central to Armenian identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To get rid of this national scourge before he destroys Armenia, I suggest that Karekin II and Aram I Vehapars order all Armenian churches — in Armenia and the Diaspora — to toll their bells, urging hundreds of thousands of Armenians to gather in front of the Prime Minister’s building and remain until Pashinyan resigns.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In recent months, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has exhibited frequent episodes of erratic behavior that raise serious questions about his mental stability. During parliamentary appearances, he screams at those who question him, wildly flailing his arms, and even threatens to jail his political opponents. Such conduct is both bizarre and wholly inappropriate for the head […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4101,"featured_media":784505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3488],"tags":[10794],"class_list":["post-824657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-harut-sassounian","tag-pashinyan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4101"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=824657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/784505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=824657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=824657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=824657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}