"Strong Armenia": Authorities` attacks on Church aimed at eroding  national identity

ArmInfo.The authorities' attacks on the Armenian Apostolic Church (AAC) are directed not so much against the structure or the Catholicos of All Armenians, but primarily against the identity of the Armenian people.  Ruben  Mkhitaryan, a member of the "Strong Armenia" party and human rights activist, made this statement during parliamentary hearings convened to discuss the current situation in the country amid the Armenian  authorities' attacks on the AAC.

He noted that what is happening today between the country's  authorities and the Armenian Church goes beyond political discourse  and represents systemic pressure against the AAC. " He rejected the  government's framing of its actions as "necessary reforms" or a  "cleansing" of the Church. Instead, he characterized the  administration's behavior as a campaign of intimidation. Mkhitaryan  poined out that Armenia, as a member of the Council of Europe, has  assumed international obligations that the current authorities  ignore. Meanwhile, the European Court of Human Rights has clearly  established in numerous decisions that the state cannot choose a  spiritual leader it prefers, interfere in the internal affairs of the  Church, or subject it to political pressure.

"What the authorities are doing can be characterized as state  interference in the autonomy of a religious organization and a  violation of people's religious freedom. The authorities' attacks are  a clear strategy, as evidenced by the consistency of their actions  and direction. However, for Armenia, the Armenian Apostolic Church is  more than just a church structure-it preserved our language in the  absence of statehood, and our culture when the Armenian people were  scattered across the world," Mkhitaryan recalled.

According to the party member, the authorities are also currently  attempting to silence the media and the opposition, threatening civil  servants, and appointing judges that suit their purposes. "But  Pashinyan and his small group have forgotten that administrative  resources cannot reach faith. The Church is not an opposition that  can be silenced, nor a party that can be disbanded; the Church is the  people. Today, the Armenian state and the Armenian Apostolic Church  must unite and  support each other, so that the Church is not forced  to defend itself  against its own weak government," Mkhitaryan  concluded