Armenian MP Artur Khachatryan from the Hayastan faction has described Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan’s speech at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as a “disgrace.”
He singled out Mirzoyan’s remark that "enemies of freedom want to drag us back into authoritarianism, endless conflicts with neighbors, and weak sovereignty."
"Apparently," Khachatryan wrote, "Armenians in Artsakh lived peacefully with the kind-hearted Azerbaijanis, and it was the ‘enemies of freedom’ who ruined that chocolate-coated relationship and made us hostile toward our good Azerbaijani neighbors."
He accused Mirzoyan of whitewashing Azerbaijan's actions, suggesting that according to the minister, it wasn’t Azerbaijan that depopulated Nakhichevan and the lowlands of Karabakh, didn’t attempt ethnic cleansing in Artsakh, didn’t create unbearable living conditions for Armenians there, or discriminate against them. "Apparently, Azerbaijani authorities are good people who didn’t organize the Sumgait and Baku pogroms, didn’t blockade Armenia and Artsakh, and didn’t start wars against us all that, apparently, was done by the so-called ‘enemies of freedom’," Khachatryan wrote sarcastically.
He labeled Mirzoyan as the most unsuccessful foreign minister in Armenia’s history, claiming he even surpassed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in denying responsibility. "While Pashinyan claims to be responsible but not guilty, Mirzoyan goes further. He implies even Aliyev isn’t to blame, only the ‘enemies of freedom’ who provoked conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis."
"Let’s not forget the Turks either," he added. "Erdogan gifted Pashinyan a book, so he must be good too. After all, the Armenian-Turkish conflict must also have been caused by the enemies of freedom…"
Khachatryan also criticized another part of Mirzoyan’s speech, in which he warned that the enemies of freedom “seek to use the very tools and mechanisms of democracy to undermine democracy.”
Khachatryan interpreted this as a justification for limiting democratic processes. "In simpler terms, these ‘enemies’ might try to vote out the ruling Civil Contract party. So, we shouldn't be surprised if the brave defenders of democracy decide to rig elections, bar political forces from participating, obstruct observers, or limit press freedom."
"After all," he continued, "who fights for democracy with white gloves? Maybe they’ll have to use the ‘steel hammer’ the people supposedly gave them. That’s what democracy looks like in Armenia, the bastion of freedom. Machiavellianism in action."
He also pointed out that Mirzoyan never named who these ‘monstrous enemies of freedom’ actually are. "Playing it safe, huh?" he concluded.
During his PACE speech, Ararat Mirzoyan said that during elections, the Armenian people will demonstrate that their will is the sole source of power. He warned that certain forces aim to disrupt Armenia’s sovereign choice for peace and democracy, seeking to return the country to authoritarianism, perpetual conflict, and weakened sovereignty by weaponizing democratic tools to destroy democracy. He said resisting these threats has become a daily task.
