Joined by lawmakers and other Yerevan-based opposition figures, Galstanian visited regional towns and villages after pledging to “restructure” his opposition-backed movement seeking to oust Pashinian.
The movement was triggered by the Armenian government’s controversial decision to hand over several disputed border areas in the northern Tavush province to Azerbaijan. Galstanian, who headed until recently the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, emerged as the leader of protests that erupted in local border villages. He shifted the protests in Yerevan in early May to demand Pashinian’s resignation.
His most recent rally in the capital took place on June 17. The outspoken cleric put a brave face on his failure to topple Pashinian so far and vowed to continue fighting for regime change.
Galstanian reaffirmed that pledge during meetings with his supporters in Syunik. He again claimed that Pashinian’s continued rule would spell a disaster for Armenia.
“[The territorial concessions] reached Tavush, tomorrow they will reach Tigranashen and again Syunik,” he said at an indoors meeting held in the provincial town of Goris. “If we take a look at such a map, what will we see? We will see a change in the structure of our country and a complete destruction of its security system.”
Vahagn Melikian, a leader of an association of retired senior diplomats supporting Galstanian’s movement, also spoke at the meeting. He claimed that the land transfer in Tavush could have a dangerous “domino effect” on Syunik.
“The enemy’s aim is Syunik,” said Melikian. “The number one threat to Armenia is not even war, it’s the policy of these authorities … If we don’t stop this we will lose Syunik as well.”
Pashinian visited Syunik two weeks ago and claimed afterwards that the trip exposed the opposition “lies” about his policy towards Azerbaijan. He said that local residents support what his administration describes as the start of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border delimitation.
One of the stops on the trip was the border village of Shurnukh which lost much of its agricultural land and a dozen houses after an Armenian troop withdrawal controversially ordered by Pashinian in the wake of the 2020 war with Azerbaijan. The Armenian authorities took three and a half years to build new homes for the dispossessed villagers, including a 74-year-old local woman, Anahit. The prime minister personally handed them the keys of the new houses.
“How long will he keep surrendering [land to Azerbaijan?]” Anahit told Galstanian on Sunday. “I don’t get it. It’s a pity that they didn’t let me talk to [Pashinian] the other day.”
“Unfortunately, as beautiful and good as [the new houses] are, they are still the consequence of a great loss that not only you but all of us are suffering today,” the archbishop told the villagers.