Opposition MP Ishkhan Saghatelyan warned that the recent campaign targeting the Armenian Apostolic Church is not an isolated development but part of a premeditated effort to destroy Armenian national identity. According to him, the masterminds behind this effort are based outside the country.
In a Facebook post, Saghatelyan stated that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is merely a tool in the execution of this “monstrous plan.”
“It’s pointless to dwell on the behavior of servants who themselves have become tools, whether it’s a defrocked priest, a ruling party MP, or a law enforcement official,” he wrote.
Saghatelyan emphasized that this is not merely an attack on high-ranking clergy but part of a strategy for “denationalization”, a term he uses to describe the erosion of Armenian identity.
“What is happening to us is a denationalization program aimed at dismantling Armenian identity. It has geopolitical dimensions, the manifestations of which we will soon witness,” he said.
He called for the creation of a national front to defend the Church and Armenian values. “We must understand the depth and seriousness of the issue and jointly stop the implementation of this monstrous plan,” he stated.
In a postscript, he elaborated on what “denationalization” entails: the erasure of ethnic identity through actions like changing language and education systems, destroying or appropriating cultural heritage, falsifying history, displacing or assimilating populations, and undermining national values and traditions.
Earlier, Prime Minister Pashinyan stated during a press conference that the Mother See would be “liberated” in the same way Armenia was “freed from Serzh Sargsyan in 2018.”
