The first Human Rights Defender (Ombudsperson) of Armenia, Larisa Alaverdyan, has made an appeal to President Armen Sarkissian.

"I insist and call on President Armen Sarkissian to fulfill his constitutional obligations and not to participate in excesses in the country," Alaverdyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

According to Article 123 of the Constitution of Armenia, the President is the head of state and oversees the implementation of the Constitution.

On February 25, the General Staff of the Armed Forces issued a statement calling on the government—led by PM Nikol Pashinyan—to resign.

Subsequently, the PM twice sent to the President the draft decree on the dismissal of the chief of the General Staff, Onik Gasparyan, but the President did not sign it twice.

In the second time, however, the President announced that he was going to petition to the Constitutional Court, but not regarding the draft decree, but to determine the constitutionality of the law on military service.

Lawyers interpret this situation differently, but they agree on one issue: the situation needs to be clarified in connection with the expiry of this petition’s deadline on Tuesday.  

The serving and retired officers of the armed forces of both Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) have expressed support to the General Staff.