Armenian PM Declares Second Phase of the Velvet Revolution
"I call all our supporters to take to the streets tomorrow from 8:30 AM and block all court buildings countrywide. I will make a live statement at 12:00 o’clock,” the Armenian PM told media in response to the decision of the court to go ahead on coup charges.
The court decision has come as a surprise, as most citizens were sure Kocharyan, who has been in prison since December, would not be released. This was to be the second time the court released him from prison pending the outcome of a trial. However, the decision of the court was met with anger and doubt in public.
The former president faces charges of overthrowing the constitutional order on 1 March 2008 and stands in violation of the Constitution of Armenia for using army units to shoot at and disperse the ten-day sit-in and non-stop demonstrations which came as a result of the disputed and widely criticized 2008 presidential elections.
Citizens waiting for the decision of the court in the courtyard met the decision to free the widely unpopular former president with disagreement, closing the main roads to the court. Later, they started a march of disobedience and social media users started to criticize the government for not being thorough and strict in this principle topic.
Kocharyan, who after his presidency was considered the richest person in Armenia, still has enormous influence on different spheres in the country. For any judge, it was a personal risk to make a verdict about the former Armenian president.
Late on Sunday evening, Pashinyan urged citizens to not lose their faith, and later with another post he called his supporters to take to the streets again.
The court system, which is considered as super corrupted among Armenians, became one of the main obstacles and bastions of the former authoritarian and revenge seeking regime of Armenia. During hearings of key corruption cases, the court decided to imprison some of the former corrupt officials who used the moment to escape from Armenia and further charges, which was a major challenge for the prestige of the new authorities of Armenia.
Pashinyan publicly stated many times that judges call his administration every time to get instructions on how to behave in certain cases, as they did before. However, he refuses to give any instructions to the judges, thus rejecting the former “traditions” of “verdicts by call”. Pashinyan also added that if he rejects “call verdicts,” the judges then call their former executives to get instructions from them.
During the national rally at the Republic Square on 17 August 2018, Pashinyan spoke about the need for transitional justice in Armenia. Later, he voiced the same opinion during his election campaign for the snap parliamentary elections in Armenia in December 2018.
by Karen Tovmasyan
Photo source - Foreign Affairs