Khachatur Sukiasian spoke in the Armenian parliament as an opposition-backed movement led by a high-ranking cleric geared up for renewed antigovernment demonstrations in Yerevan. His threats were addressed to oppositionists and “many other Armenian citizens” who he claimed “serve other states.”
“If we look back at the past and see who and how ruled Armenia and how they treated people naming a foreign country … they were treated very badly,” said Sukiasian. “Those people ended up in prison or died or got dispossessed. Now I’m telling you that if you don’t behave and if you hamper the development of Armenia you will be dealt with by the same tools.”
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian, the protest leader backed by virtually all Armenian opposition forces, condemned the remarks, saying they constitute death threats, a criminal offense under Armenian law. Galstanian demanded that law-enforcement authorities investigate not only the threats but also Sukiasian’s claims that Pashinian’s detractors work for foreign intelligence services.
Other Pashinian allies also regularly brand Armenian opposition leaders as a “fifth column” serving foreign states and Russia in particular. The prime minister himself alleged on May 7 that foreign intelligence “agents” are involved in the Galstanian-led protests sparked by his territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
Pashinian offered no proof of his allegations. Armenian law-enforcement agencies have reported no investigations into them. Earlier in May, Prosecutor-General Anna Vardapetian said that such “unaddressed political statements” do not warrant criminal proceedings.
Sukiasian was elected to the current parliament on the ruling Civil Contract party’s ticket in 2021. The tycoon and his extended family have expanded their business interests since Pashinian came to power in 2018 not least because of lucrative government contracts won by their firms.