Ani Vartazarian, a village mayor affiliated with Armenia’s ruling Civil Contract party, as well as other government loyalists made such veiled threats on social media following a series of anti-government protests sparked by Azerbaijan’s September 19-20 military offensive that forced Karabakh’s population to flee to Armenia. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s political team was reportedly worried that many of the 100,000 or so refugees could join protests organized by Armenian opposition forces blaming him for the mass exodus and demanding his resignation.
“Any Artsakh Armenian who takes part in demonstrations must be stripped of all kinds of assistance,” Vartazarian wrote on her Facebook page on September 30.
Another Civil Contract member urged the Armenian government to “deport Karabakh people taking part in demonstrations,” while an unofficial spokeswoman for Pashinian’s wife warned such refugees that “their names will be registered and their families will be stripped of state support.”
Unlike the ruling party, civic activists condemned these diatribes, saying that they are not only morally repugnant but also illegal. Amram Makinian, a lawyer critical of Pashinian’s government, went farther, petitioning prosecutors to bring criminal charges against Vartazarian.
The Investigative Committee, a law-enforcement agency instructed to look into the matter, concluded that Vartazarian did not do anything punishable by the Armenian Criminal Code.
Makinian deplored that decision when he spoke to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on Wednesday. He said the village chief violated Criminal Code articles setting punishment for discrimination and obstruction of citizens’ freedom of assembly.
“The village chief is a public official who publicly discriminated against people based on their former place of residence,” argued the lawyer. He claimed that the authorities’ refusal to prosecute Vartazarian is further proof that for political reasons, they turn a blind eye to “many crimes committed in the country.”
The Investigative Committee raised eyebrows late last month when it repeatedly stated that many of the protesters clashing with riot police in Yerevan and prosecuted as a result are Karabakh Armenians. Critics accused the committee headed by one of Pashinian’s trusted lieutenants of violating Armenia’s anti-discrimination laws.
Hundreds of people were detained during the protests. According to the Armenian opposition, at least 37 of them remain under arrest, accused of involvement in the “mass disturbances” and resistance to security forces.
In a statement issued on Monday, the main opposition Hayastan bloc condemned the accusations as politically motivated and again demanded the release of all detainees. It noted that none of Pashinian’s loyalists “spreading intra-national hatred and enmity with anti-Artsakh statements” has been held accountable.