If there is anyone who is responsible (or, if you prefer, guilty) for the fact that a former leader like Robert Kocharyan, to put it mildly, who has an ambiguous reputation, became a political figure, the “leader” of the opposition faction, and still remains in the arena, then, of course, it is Nikol Pashinyan. In 2018, “Serzh was rejected” and not Kocharyan, and from the point of view of superficial logic, it seems that it did not make much sense to expand the scope of “rejection” after coming to power. I do not know which “bright brain” advised the Prime Minister to launch a prosecution on charges of “undermining the constitutional order,” but it was a good opportunity to “put the former president in circulation.” That Kocharyan is responsible for the March 1 massacre is, in my opinion, obvious. But to file a case under that article and conduct the investigation and trial in that way can be seen either as negligence and ignorance, or as a far-reaching calculation.
Another trial of Robert Kocharyan started last week. This time, he and Armen Gevorgyan are accused of bribing a mining company to obtain a mining license. According to the accusation, the owner of that company, Silva Hambardzumyan, gave $3 million to businessman Samvel Mayrapetyan, who transferred the money to Kocharyan. I do not know if such a thing happened or not, but I do not envy the prosecutor’s office that defends such an accusation and the court that may have to confirm the accusation. Again, I have no doubt that Kocharyan became rich during his rule by using his official position. But to talk about 4 billion and then blame the 3 million, referring to the difficult-to-prove deal, is objectively beneficial for the second president. As it is known that some key employees of the Prosecutor’s Office are good specialists, it can be assumed that they have to carry out a political order. The whole question is why such orders are reduced.
Or maybe the current government benefits from keeping Kocharyan in the status of “main opposition” – a figure whose return to power scares thousands of citizens. If so, which is questionable, it is a politically savvy tactic.
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Aram Abrahamyan
