Samvel Karapetyan blasts government's use of repressive tactics

Businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, who has been detained for two months, on Thursday issued the following statement via his legal team:

“What the Current Authorities Have Achieved

They’ve divided the country into “black” and “white”. They labeled our heroes, generals, scientists – our entire intellectual and professional elite – as “black.” Some were branded as corrupt, others as useless to society. Virtually all entrepreneurs found themselves placed in the “black” category. In many cases, hundreds of fabricated criminal cases were brought against them.

The brutal repressive machine has become the preferred method of governance, shaking the foundations of our country from within. People who truly care for Armenia, create jobs, drive progress and serve the nation have become political prisoners, forced to endure the harsh reality of prison cells and detention centers.

Respected people and their families have been persecuted, forced to leave or never return to their homeland. I know many of them personally. The list of those unjustly treated is long.

The current leadership managed to turn everyone against each other. Political forces began fighting against each other, forgetting the true source of harm. But time has its way of revealing the truth. The so-called “black” are beginning to shine with clarity, while the “white”, now a shrinking minority in the public eye, will soon be exposed as a small, isolated group.

Even that realization brings me no joy, because the division and internal strife have plunged us into the darkest chapter of our history. Together, we will put an end to this division soon.

We will fight.

To be continued…"