Former state minister of Artsakh addresses Armenia`s premier 

ArmInfo.In his video message from Hakobavank, former state minister of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan  addressed Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan and warned him against "dangerous steps." 

"I am in Hamkobavank. The most terrible thing in the current  situation is that we are not speaking of which of the political  forces is right or wrong, which of the leaders is better. We are  speaking of genuine values.  When we allow ourselves to claim we have  thousands of deserters without providing any evidence, when we say  Armenian women are unhappy, when we say spitting at a person's face  is something natural, when we say a campaign against the church can  be launched, when we speak of Artsakh and inquire about what common  we can have with it, shaking the finger at the National Assembly and  saying 'Who are you to tell us?', when we can have thousands of  visits, without stopping the war, which is turning into a standard.  This is the greatest threat facing us because we are not betraying an  idea, we are betraying our homeland, our deepest power," Mr Vardanyan  said.  

"The developments during the last few months - when I see the most  important values being trampled on - I view it as crossing all the  red lines. We are trying to discuss issues not subject to discussions  - the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, our Armenian values,  Mount Ararat - our pillars of all times. I do not know, Mr Pashinyan,  how long you are going to remain the leader, but I am saying to you:  you are making dangerous steps. You are not trying to defend the  Armenian state or your power. Rather, you are trying to turn us into  slaves and people without values. You will fail," Mr Vardanyan said. 

People from Artsakh are beside the people in Yerevan's Republic  square not because they are defending the killed soldier's mother,  but because "they feel what is going on around them. And this cannot  last long."   

On May 17, Gayane Hakobyan, mother of killed soldier Zhora  Martirosyan, was arrested on a charge of "attempted kidnapping" of  Ashot Pashinyan, son of Armenia's Premier Nikol Pashinyan.