Nikol Pashinyan explains why he refused to take part in protest actions: Sasna Tsrer quitted their initial agenda on president's resignation

At a press conference on August 4, Armenian MP, Civil Contract Party leader Nikol Pashinyan explained why he refused to take part in the demonstrations in support of the Sasna Tsrer (Daredevils of Sassoon) group, which seized the Patrol Guard Service Regiment territory. "The group revised its initial agenda of demands, actually removing the provision of Serzh Sargsyan's resignation," he noted.        
Pashinyan recalled that he took part in the protests and expressed his support to the group. "Let this sound immodest, but this could be done by no one but me", he said.   
Later, however, he refused to take part in the demonstrations, because the politicized part of the group revised its initial agenda related to resignation of the president. "It is no secret that Sasna Tsrer consists of two parts - a political part that includes Zhirayr Sefilyan, Varuzhan Avetisyan, Alec Yenicomshian, and the part of Karabakh war veterans, who have no political experience. So, at a certain stage, the political component of the group revised its agenda, quitting the demand about Serzh Sargsyan's resignation and making a serious tactical mistake. The evidence of it was the first interview of Varuzhan Avetisyan, who said that negotiations were being held with the authorities and that they might quit the demand of the president's resignation, replacing it with shrinkage of the president's powers. Afterwards, Avetisyan said that he could not report the details of the talks. Such rules of the game were unacceptable to us. What does it mean to urge people to join them with one agenda but then to change the agenda and keep the talks secret? Then NKR lawmaker Vitaly Balasanyan, who was holding the negotiations between Sasna Tsrer and the authorities, said that Sefilyan put forward no demand about Serzh Sargsyan's resignation. Then Sefilyan's teammate Alec Yenikomshian said that Balasanyan distorted Sefilyan's words. Please note, he did not refute Balasanyan's remarks, he just said that Balasanyan distorted Sefilyan's words. And finally, the statement of Sefilyan contained no single word about Serzh Sargsyan's resignation. Such rules of the game are unacceptable to us. This is why we refused to take part in the protests," Pashinyan noted. 
He reiterated that changes in Armenia are possible through political steps only.