Mane Tandilyan, leader of the Country to Live party, posted on Facebook that Armenia is experiencing a full-scale campaign against its national identity and values, stating bluntly: “This is nothing short of war.”
She expressed disbelief that during her lifetime, Armenians would witness “the destruction of Armenian identity and a war against national values.” However, she emphasized that the current government has become “the instrument” for this process, even if it is not the true source.
“They broke our spirit first, turning 'Nikolism' into a symbol of humiliation,” she wrote. She further accused the government of:
- Imposing a war on the nation, then blaming the army and calling thousands of soldiers deserters;
- Undermining compassion toward displaced Artsakh Armenians and the memory of the Armenian Genocide;
- Fragmenting society, fostering a mentality of survival over principle.
Tandilyan pointed to symbolic shifts such as replacing Mesrop Mashtots with a QR code, Mount Ararat with Aragats, and Armenian Genocide remembrance with “clarifications,” which she sees as attacks on the pillars of national memory.
She described the government’s campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church as particularly aggressive, claiming it ridiculed clergy and Christian values, and tarnished the pride of being the first nation to adopt Christianity.
Tandilyan warned that this goes beyond legality and morality and that the authorities are using electoral legitimacy to justify dismantling the nation’s faith and values, thus branding the people complicit in their own destruction.
“There is no point in searching for such plans in their electoral programs. You’ll find the opposite,” she said, calling the situation betrayal.
Despite territorial losses, economic hardship, and rising crime, she believes recovery is possible—if Armenians remove this “instrumentalized government.”
She concluded with a call to action: “This cannot continue. We will dismantle this tool. Today with words, tomorrow with deeds, and at the ballot box next time. This tool will not reload.”
On October 26, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan attended a liturgy led by defrocked priest Ter Aram, declared illegal by the Mother See. He was accompanied by his ministers, while the Church denounced the move as spiritually harmful and divisive.
