Below is the “text” of the USA ARMENIAN LIFE TV program of May 10, 2024. Exposés by Appo Jabarian and well-known publicist and investigative journalist Vosgan Mekhitarian.
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APPO JABARIAN: Greetings dear viewers, my name is Appo Jabarian.
My interlocutor is the well-known public speaker and investigative journalist Mr. Vosgan Mkhitarian.
In recent days, a domestic political circus started in the Tavush region, covertly led by the old regime and Kremlin agents of Putin’s Russia, along with Robert Kocharyan, Serge Sargsyan, and corrupt Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II, his cronies including the most prominent fellow clansman Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, primate of Tavush Diocese in northeastern Armenia. The latter is trying to portray himself a “new St. Ghevond” (the heroic Catholicos fighting side by side with General Vartan). He seems to be eager to become a ‘hero.’
I would not say that today’s government of Pashinyan is the holy of holies, but we must be truthful. I am neither a supporter of the government, nor of the old regime kleptomaniacs. As a representative of the free press, I am fulfilling my duty, giving a to the broad segments of the Diaspora, which also includes the Armenians of the United States of America, Canada, South America, Europe and Australia.
In these broad circles, it should be said that, to the credit of our people, the overwhelming majority are independent-thinking Armenians, neither of the old tyrants, nor of the right, nor of the left– both in the homeland and in the Diaspora. The old regime tried in vain to label independent thinkers as “Pashinoglu.” These people have become so obsessed in their desire for return to power that they have forgotten that the campaigning for the June 2021 special parliamentary elections ended a long time ago. During that campaign, the supporters and candidates of the old dictatorial regime spent millions of dollars in order to convince and bribe a segment of Homeland people experiencing severe economic hardships, who unfortunately sold their vote for the sake of money.
And now, we now have what we have. We have a fake opposition and we also have an equally corrupt “spiritual” leadership.
Unfortunately, the Primate of Tavush Arch. Bagrat Galstanyan is a part of that corrupt “spiritual” leadership that allegedly stepped forward to save Armenia. Let’s look at how well the second and third presidents saved Armenia until 2018, starting from 1998? They did a mediocre job. They looted Armenia and Artsakh’s defense budget. They sabotaged the Diaspora’s integration with Armenia. The same clan, now widely recognized as “Karabakh Mafia,” ‘gifted’ Artsakh to Azerbaijan in September 2023. And now they are claiming that Armenia needs to be saved.
This Tavush-Yerevan march circus has started. However, according to what we have witnessed in recent days, to their credit, the homeland Armenians overwhelmingly refused to participate.
A question to my interlocutor: Mr. Mekhitarian, what kind of extraordinary speeches did you come across in the last few days?
VOSGAN MEKHITARIAN: The situation is deplorable, in the sense that the two patriarchs, Catholicos Karekin II and Catholicos Aram I, are contributing to spreading such false news that the Republic of Armenia is handing over land, simply creating confusion in the minds of the people.
On top of these statements, the Lebanese “Zartonk” newspaper made the following statement, which caught my attention. “People’s anger had already reached its peak, and when the opposition was not able to raise a political leader from among its ranks, it was the church itself that shouldered the national salvation mission at this fateful moment, perhaps even unintentionally taking on a military-political role to save what was can be saved from our homeland.”
This editorial of “Zartonk” gives us the impression that the editor is a pathetic crony (of the old regime) who has absolutely no political understanding. Can you imagine that the church … bringing forward a political leader? This kind of generosity is not tolerable, Mr. Sevak.
How successful have (these Karekin-crony) churchmen been in fulfilling their spiritual duties? They are a miserable failure. Now they are lecturing us about the value of their political gymnastics. The former failed to come to the public with any plan, or a viable leader, starting with Vazgen Manukyan. Now they’re boasting that the Mother See can fulfill the role of political leadership? How small thinking is that! First and foremost, let the Karekin churchmen succeed in their spiritual mission and then talk about politics.
Whatever is taking place today, under the “leadership” of Arch. Bagrat, is nothing but a dictated scenario by other forces. What do you think will happen? Nothing, darlings, nothing. You must give the popularly-elected government an opportunity to secure the country. Do not forget that there are external forces. The least that you could do is not to sabotage from within the country. Armenia is in a dark state politically. Don’t aggravate the situation. Give the state an opportunity to see what the next step will be. The enemies are at the door. Don’t join those enemies, so that our people don’t curse you.
Arch. Bagrat, what is your business? What did the government do that gave you the right to lead a group of people to Yerevan? What are you going to do, Arch. Bagrat? Will you create a revolution? For what merit? You ‘succeeded’ at the Canada Diocese; you did so many bad deeds there, let’s not talk about it. The press has written a lot about you. What will you do now? Kissing the left, the right – a child, a dog, a cat – you will arrive in Yerevan… what will you do, Arch. Bagrat?
Will you create a revolution? … You are trying to destroy the motherland from within. Who is funding this “revolutionary” movement of yours? … Instead of preaching unity and love from the altar to stand up for the motherland, you are inciting our poor people against their government. Why? What is your interest?
What are the amounts that are being distributed in the streets of Yerevan today? What is it that you’re trying to accomplish? You [and the Karabakh clan] ‘saved’ Artsakh, now you will save Yerevan? Do you want to bribe the uprooted people of Artsakh (now settled in Armenia) so that they join you in undermining the state? … How are you supporting the reconstruction of the motherland? On the contrary, you are trying to destroy at least the temporary calm that exists today inside the motherland. You are attempting to cause a storm in the ranks of the Armenian nation. You make a storm in Armenia; the same storm reaches the Diaspora as well. Because we breathe with the homeland and live with the homeland. Stop your misguided steps. Don’t shed our people’s blood.
As a clergyman, Bagrat, my question to you: On the day of the previous revolutions, when all those difficulties happened under the previous presidents (Kocharyan and Sargsyan), did you raise your voice one day about the police beating a protester? Now you are screaming that the government is using the police force. Did you file a complaint then? Did you and your bosses complain then? Now you have gone to the street like a street mob. You forget for a moment that you are a member of the clergy. You are obliged to preach love, to preach loyalty, to preach unity. On the contrary, you are preaching hate.
Why do you want to destroy the homeland? Is this your mission? … Act in such a way that we believe that you really want to kiss the native land, because you believe in the existence of the motherland. The Bagrats will come and go. Leaders, including Pashinyan, will also come and go. The state is permanent. Therefore, we must all join hands, the Catholicoi included. We should not turn the people against the government.
You gave away Artsakh; was there a statement of condemnation from the Catholicoi? It didn’t happen. Artsakh gave Azerbaijan the leadership of the day on a plate. Catholicos Aram, did you ever complain? You had congratulated those same people (ARF-Artsakh leadership) a week ago; ten days later Artsakh was handed over to Azerbaijan (by the President of Artsakh who is a member of ARF-Artsakh leadership). What are you protesting now?
You, the Catholicoi, are talking about unity. I am asking you, I am begging you, first and foremost love each other, then talk about unity. Two Catholicoi have not had a harmonious collaboration for so many years. Look at our dioceses. Now, who are you two Catholicoi against? Against the current (popularly-elected) government…. Well, wait, the election is coming; bring your people only if they really have a clear plan for Armenia to become more prosperous. Just do not create a storm on such crisis days.
You’re doing all this to overthrow the government so that you can help old regimites return to power? You want them to return to power in order to plunder again? Put an end to all this.
APPO JABARIAN: Today broad masses of the Armenian people, both inside the Homeland and the Diaspora, are asking Putin’s cronies in Armenia – the old-regime “KGB-eshniks” (“KGB agents”) the following question: Where were they when Artsakh was waging an existential 44-Day War? Where were they when they conspired with Russia in handing over Shushi to the enemy? Where were these people, when the whole of Artsakh was under siege on September 19, 2023, the same homeland, the “national salvation movement” that had ‘taken upon itself to save’ the Armenian statehood? Now they are rearing their heads in order to “save” Armenia?
We saw how you “saved” Artsakh, ladies and gentlemen. You also “saved” the most important factor of Armenian statehood, which was the defense budget that you looted. Let’s see how you saved. Let’s see how you “rescued” the businessmen repatriating from the Diaspora. We saw how you tried to defraud them. And we saw how you “saved” the Diaspora, when you embedded your agents as leaders of various public organizations of the Diaspora in such wrong ways that today various civil and religious structures in the Diaspora are led by the wrong people. That is also the result of your “rescue” work.
Are you happy that now you are trying to save yourselves and what you looted from the Armenian nation? Are you happy that you are saving what you looted, assets worth billions of dollars that you looted from the Armenian people and the Armenian state? Now you see what “salvation” really is, ladies and gentlemen?
According to various sources, large amounts of money have been put into circulation these days for the so-called “national salvation march”, starting from Tavush, to reach Yerevan. According to well-informed sources, this circus is being funded with such a huge budget that “it causes dizziness.” The funds that are being put in circulation apparently provided by the old regime’s kleptomaniacs. You know, from their point of view spending a few percent of their loot in order to save their skin and to orchestrate “revanchism” in order to keep a large part of their loot makes perfect sense.
And those people will continue operating like this, because the government of the day is failing in its duty. The government failed in dismissing all the corrupt judges and prosecutors appointed by the old regime. However, in all fairness to the current regime, the authorities are trying to do a good job, but there are also “oligarchs” in the ranks of the current regime. This “oligarchy” must be stopped and brought to justice, dear ones.
We must build a new state. In order to build a new state, we need the Rule of Law just as the current government promised during the extraordinary parliamentary elections to rule with a steel “mandate”.
If we are really faithful to the campaign promises we made, then please be kind enough to implement the law of “Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Assets” and bring all the looters to Justice without any discrimination or bias.
Also, most importantly, the current Armenian statehood continues to suffer internally from the existence of a fake opposition. The time has come for President of the Armenian Parliament Mr. Alen Simonian to start pursuing his task with practical steps. Since he is the current president of the Armenian parliament, he has the right to call an emergency session; the only agenda of the emergency session should be to put an end to this widespread circus by declaring a new special election, so that the old regime cronies would be completely or near-completely ejected from the parliament.
The Armenian people deserve to have a real, loyal opposition, and not to just provide seats to the old regimes in the parliament. They occupy a large number of seats, which in reality belong to the healthy segments of the Armenian civil society. Several worthy patriotic candidates could not manage to cross the minimum 5 percent limit and were left out of the parliament. The old thugs spent billions of dollars on the special elections of June 2021. Because of their bribe-ridden ‘victory’, they are still in position to undermine Armenia internally. This circus can come to an end from the moment new special parliamentary elections are announced. This circus cannot continue like this. We will not be able to save the nation with modern “false heroes.”
VOSGAN MEKHITARIAN: Church clergy must stay away from politics. As if they saved the Armenian Apostolic Church, are they now also trying to ‘save’ the Armenian state? Stay away from politics because it is none of your business. You can only preach love, unity, and solidarity. Therefore, it would be good for you to undermine internal stability once again. After all, you have an obligation to be useful to the people in the way of the Tabernacle, not by causing a storm.
When we talk about churchmen, never think that we have a strong position against the Armenian Apostolic Church. We are the worshipers of the church and we are the members of that church. Our complaint is about the “charlatan” churchmen, who exploit their religious status and collaborate with the 5th column. They are seeking to benefit from the crumbs of the table.
APPO JABARIAN: The circus of these fake clergymen, the self-heroification process of self-proclaimed new “St. Ghevond” must be stopped at all costs. Democracy? Yes. But no to fraud.
The legislative body of Armenia should enact two laws as soon as possible. Legislate and start implementing them.
First, as it is known in America and in the whole free world, there is a legal procedure of registering all foreign-funded activists, including fake clergy, as “Foreign Agents.” The clergy, or any citizen, be it a politician or an ordinary citizen, who represent foreign interests, must be registered as ‘Foreign Agents.’
Second, a law needs to be legislated and enforced immediately to tax at the rate of 50% all funds put into circulation and paid as bribes to ordinary citizens involved in a) vote-selling; b) any riotous demonstrations.” This way the Armenian State security forces can have a better handle on the internal front.
The security of any state is not only achieved through military means, but also via informational and economical means. So, these laws will be proposed to be developed and implemented as soon as possible, so that the internal discipline, law and order is strengthened in every way and the Armenian statehood continues not only to survive, but also to prosper.
So, we salute our colleagues in Armenia, who think independently. One of the foremost independent thinkers is Mr. Suren Sargsyan of MERONQ TV, who always ends his program with a signature statement, “stay strong, everything will be fine!”
Yes, everything will be fine. Stay strong Armenia!