Ruling elite focuses efforts on internal policy, ignoring external  challenges - opposition MP

ArmInfo. The Armenian authorities, instead of confronting external threats, have concentrated their main resources on domestic  political issues in order to ensure their comfort and prolong their existence. This was stated by Tigran  Abrahamyan, a member of parliament from the opposition faction "I  have the honor", at an extraordinary session of the National Assembly  on July 7, where a motion to strip three opposition MPs of their  immunity was being considered.

"It is problematic that the authorities are concentrating their main  resources in the domestic political field, thereby ensuring the  comfort of their power and prolonging its existence, while instead of  confronting external challenges, they are focusing on justifying  their failures and containing public discontent with various  manipulations," the oppositionist noted.

In this regard, he drew attention to the fact that in the views of  some associates of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the army  does not go beyond issues such as "T-shirts, underwear and  strawberries," which is an alarming indicator of the state of the  political situation in the country.

"I will address these topics in more detail when Vice Speaker of the  National Assembly of Armenia Hakob Arshakyan creates an opportunity  for me and my colleagues not only to discuss the state of our  military units, but also to get acquainted with the situation in them  with our own eyes," Abrahamyan emphasized.

Further, touching upon the persecution of the secretary of the  Armenia faction Artsvik Minasyan, the MP noted that he knows him as  an honest and law-abiding person who could not have been involved in  the events with which he is accused. In this vein, he drew the  public's attention to the fact that the authorities begin such  persecutions in cases where they have serious gaps in their discourse  on the merits.

"The scheme is very clear: as a result of the ineffectiveness of  political instruments and the absence of the desired result, the  authorities resort to propaganda attacks and slander against  opposition opponents, as well as to imprisonment," the oppositionist  explained.

Abrahamyan also drew attention to the fact that there are many cases  when certain political figures with a certain reputation in society  have purposefully become the target of political persecution in order  to resolve certain domestic political issues.

"The state apparatus, instead of preventing crimes or effectively  combating them, is engaged in domestic political operations, as a  result of which crimes only flourish in our country," the  oppositionist emphasized.

According to the investigation materials, the head of the opposition  faction "Armenia" Seyran Ohanyan is accused of illegally taking  possession of a 10.5 thousand square meter plot of land in the  Drakhtik community of the Gegharkunik region of Armenia, which was  under the jurisdiction of the Sevan National Park, and building a  mansion on it at the expense of the state budget. Artsvik Minasyan,  according to the investigation, did not take any steps to legally  assess Ohanyan's actions during his time as Minister of the  Environment in 2016-2018. Moreover, it is alleged that he contributed  to the concealment of the crime by issuing a building permit to  persons associated with Ohanyan and allowing the forgery of a number  of documents.