Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan argued with a citizen during an election campaign event in Shengavit.
The man told him, “I believed in you and your government. In 2018, I stood by your side because I felt the authorities had to leave. Now I want to say the same thing to you. You surrendered Artsakh. I know many people will not like hearing this. You are the primary person responsible for the deaths of 5,000 young men,” Factor.am reported.
The statement about “5,000 deaths” angered Pashinyan.
“Where did the figure 5,000 come from? You are using the vocabulary of those scoundrels. Isn’t the number of victims enough for you, that you also use the figure 5,000?” he said.
According to Pashinyan, the sacrifices made during the war are what allowed Armenia to preserve its statehood and independence.
“You came and stood in front of the prime minister and said all this. That means we have a state, we have independence, we have democracy, because if you had said this 15 years ago, they would have beaten and killed you in a bathroom, right now,” Pashinyan said.
Another incident also took place in Shengavit. Police detained a man who had earlier addressed Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his team in a video message, Panorama.am reported.
“Nikol, gather your runaway people and come here, I’m waiting,” the man had said in the video.
Police placed handcuffs on the man in the presence of his pregnant wife and elderly mother before forcibly putting him into a police vehicle.
“Don’t do it, let him go, remove the handcuffs. Don’t do it. Brother, let him go. Don’t pull him,” the man shouted as several officers attempted to force him into the car.
The incident also angered the man’s elderly mother.
“He’s not running away, do you understand? Take those things off his hands, you idiot,” she said.
During the incident, the man also chanted “Nikol traitor.”
It later became known that the citizen taken to the Shengavit police department was Artak Avetisyan.
The election campaign that began on May 8 will continue until June 5. June 6 will be observed as a day of silence, while elections will take place on June 7.
