For 10 days a popular movement of exceptional magnitude has shaken Armenia. His goal claimed: to obtain the resignation of Prime Minister Serge Sarkissian. Until the end the CCAF wanted to believe that a dialogue between the parties could have been established. But the arrest of Nikol Pashinian MP Nikol Pashinian on Sunday (April 22nd) marks an undemocratic undemocratic turn in the management of this crisis. Until then, the authorities had shown coolness and some restraint in the face of the inexorable rise of the dispute. While the protesters, following the instructions of their leaders, had kept themselves from all violence. But the arrest of Nikol Pashinian, who is also a deputy and chairman of the Yelk coalition, is an unmanageable break with the ongoing political process.
Committed to the rule of law, the democratic development of the country, and particularly sensitive to the suffering of its population, the CCAF asks the authorities to immediately release Nikol Pashinian. They are urged to abstain from violence against the population and scrupulously respect the constitution of the country’s parliamentary regime adopted by referendum in 2015. Faced with the gravity of the situation that raises the question of legitimacy and the representativeness of the power in place, the CCAF believes that only a dialogue between the parties to create the conditions for a democratic arbitration of this crisis, by the sovereign people, will be likely to bring back social peace and confidence. He appeals to the great wisdom of the authorities and the sense of responsibility of the opposition for a political, democratic and peaceful solution. What goes through the release of Nikol Pashinian.
CCAF National Office
April 22