On 5 June, the leader of the Prosperous Armenia (BHK) opposition party Gagik Tsarukyan demanded that the Armenian government steps down, accusing it of mishandling the coronavirus crisis and its socioeconomic consequences, reported the Armenian Radio Free Europe.
“We are losing the country,” he declared in a speech aired by a TV channel that he controls. “Every day, every hour passes to the detriment of our country and our people,” he stated. Tsarukyan accused the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of failing to deliver on his pledges to carry out an “economic revolution” that would significantly improve living standards. The BHK leader claimed that Pashinyan’s cabinet consists of mostly inexperienced and incompetent people. “I said last year that with this composition and structure [of the government] it’s impossible to live up to the [people’s] expectations and that if they want to live up to them, they must replace 97 percent of [government members,]” he added.
He also slammed the government for failing to contain the rapid spread of coronavirus in the country. “In all other countries the pandemic has subsided, whereas in Armenia [the daily number of new coronavirus cases] reaches 400, 500, 600 and 700 day by day,” he said. “This is the result of fruitless and inefficient work for which people must be he held answerable.”
He went on to call on “healthy” political groups and individuals “concerned about country’s future” to join forces and discuss with him “ways out of the existing situation.” He did not name any potential allies, saying only that he will not cooperate with politicians “unacceptable to the people.”
Pashinyan responded to Tsarukyans’s accusations through his spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan. “I think that Mr. Tsarukyan is simply concerned about the course of a number of criminal cases relating to money laundering, vote buying, tax evasion and corruption. If Mr. Tsarukyan thinks that his political statements will derail the investigations then it’s a wrong calculation because in Armenia everyone is equal before the law,” she wrote on Facebook. She also suggested that Tsarukyan, who is one of the country’s richest men, was also worried about the recent entry into force of a law allowing authorities to confiscate private properties and other assets deemed to have been acquired illegally.
Tsarukyan’s spokeswoman, Iveta Tonoyan, responded by saying that the authorities are thus threatening to prosecute the leader of the largest parliamentary opposition force on “fabricated grounds.” For reminder, on 28 April Armenia's National Security Service (NSS) arrested Tsarukyan’s right-hand man Sedrak Arustamyan on charges of giving a $22.4 million bribe to the former Armenian finance minister Gagik Khachatryan (Caucasus Watch reported).
The leader of the second-largest parliamentary opposition Bright Armenia party Edmond Marukyan argued that the government should re-imposes a nationwide lockdown to stop the accelerating spread of coronavirus and distribute financial assistance to every citizen so that people stay at home. “There are two options: either you need to give money to people so that they stay at home or stimulate the economy. Money was not allocated, and instead ineffective support programs were approved. We proposed that money be distributed to households as is done in all advanced countries, which imposed lockdown,” he said.
“Can the government take such a step again? It can, if it gives everyone money. The government has the money. It has borrowed funds to fight Covid-19," he elaborated. He outed his beliefs that the Armenian people are as disciplined as other nations and the current situation is not the fault of everyday citizens.
On 7 June, Armenia registered 766 new COVID-19 cases, the latest record in daily increase since 4 June. Pashinyan even stated that Armenia was “going through hell.” The current tally of infected person in Armenia is 13 325 cases and 211 reported deaths.
