Armen Ashotyan: “Madam Ambassador, Go Home”
Armen Ashotyan, Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (HHK), believes that no one has caused so much damage to universal and European values in Armenia as the European Union (EU) Ambassador to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin.
During a protest staged today outside the EU Delegation Office in Armenia, Mr. Ashotyan said the EU has recently pursued a very poor policy in Armenia.
“The EU appoints here people who are about to retire. Neither former ambassador nor this one has been quite appropriate. Respected partners of the EU, do stop “writing off” your poor diplomatic cadres by sending them to Armenia, do stop appointing to Armenia people who – instead of representing European values in Armenia, instead of fostering democracy in Armenia, instead of strengthening our ties – ruin all of this by becoming acolytes of the current regime. The former ambassador wrote a book about the so-called revolution. He was so happy and glad that it happened during his tenure. This ambassador, too, may pen a book, a collection of fairy tales about the development of democracy in Armenia.
Addressing the EU Ambassador to Armenia, Armen Ashotyan made the following remarks:
“Ms. Ambassador. I have repeatedly tried to call you to order, to open your eyes as I naively thought you were uninformed. No, you are quite well-informed. You are not only well-informed, but you also encourage these villains who have no homeland to have a ready tongue. Such a ready tongue that one of them dared to state on the National Assembly floor that Armenia’s brand is democracy.
No, dear compatriots, it is with pain that I should say that since June 20, 2021, Armenia’s brand across the world has been humiliation, lack of respect, depriving of dignity. Ms. Ambassador is serving the interests of the capitulationist authorities in our country.
Ms. Ambassador, you know that you have to monitor the implementation of the Armenia-EU agreement, don’t you? Why are you hiding from the people the fact that the agreement’s implementation is in a terrible state, why are you hiding from the people that under Nikol Pashinyan Armenia has failed to carry out all those reforms to the extent it had undertaken to carry out under Serzh Sargsyan, back on November 24, 2017. Ms. Ambassador, you will not change, you have nothing to do in Armenia”.
Armen Ashotyan stressed that the protest is not being staged against European values, but to urge Andrea Wiktorin to protect European values and democracy in Armenia.
“You served as ambassador to Belarus in 2014-2019. Evil tongues say you were able to get along even with Lukashenko. If you were getting along with Lukashenko, why have we failed to get on? Ms. Ambassador, let me say in English so as you could understand – Go home,” Armen Ashotuan said.
He added that there are political prisoners in Armenia, pressure is being put on judges, there is political pressure, and violations of reporter rights have been reported.
Ashotyan called on his colleagues of the European parliament to exercise parliamentary control over the EU diplomatic service in Armenia. “And you will see blatant, disgraceful facts”.
by Razmik Martirosyan
