March 3, 2021
Vazgen Manukyan
Homeland Salvation Movement Condemns “Politically Motivated” Move
Armenia’s law enforcement authorities on Wednesday have pressed criminal charges against Homeland Salvation Movement’s candidate for prime minister Vazgen Manukyan for public statements allegedly calling for the overthrow of Armenia’s constitutional order.
Armenia’s Investigative Committee spokesperson Rima Yeganyan told Armenpress on Wednesday that Manukyan allegedly made calls to usurp power and overthrow Armenia’s constitutional order during a rally at Yerevan’s Freedom Square on February 20.
“At any moment — it could be today, one week later or ten days later — we must be ready for revolting and taking power at lightning speed,” said Manukyan said during the February 20 rally, describing it as a “Plan B” for the opposition, which has been campaigning for Prim Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation since he signed the November 9 agreement that ended military actions in Karabakh, but stipulated the surrender of territories in Artsakh and Armenia to Azerbaijan.
“We will follow Plan A but must always be ready for Plan B,” said Manukyan during the February 20 rally.
In a statement, the Homeland Salvation Movement announced the reported indictment of Manukyan and said that he has been called to the Investigative Committee at 11 a.m. local time on Thursday.
Homeland Salvation Movement leader and Armenian Revolutionary Federation member Gegham Manukyan condemned the move, calling it “politically motivated” to silence the opposition.