Samvel Karapetyan: Unifying values in Armenia have been undermined

Businessman and philanthropist Samvel Karapetyan, who has been placed in pre-trial detention for two months, on Monday issued another public statement through his legal team.

“The current Armenian leadership has dealt a serious blow to the unifying values of our nation,” Karapetyan asserted.

According to the statement, those once hailed as national heroes are now discredited. Soldiers who fought with bravery are portrayed as deserters, wounded veterans are left isolated, grieving mothers are labeled as protesters and long-suffering Artsakh Armenians have been reduced to stateless refugees. Meanwhile, the country’s youth are depicted as lost and disillusioned, with many seeing emigration as their only future.

Karapetyan also pointed to the worsening economic situation in Armenia.

“The business community is being vilified and entrepreneurship has been turned into a target for exploitation,” he said, adding it has stifled the investment climate and rendered Armenia unattractive to both domestic and foreign investors. Over the past seven years, he claims, the country saw the rise of companies generating little to no added value.

Karapetyan accused the authorities of attempting to silence independent journalism and suppress criticism.

“They have fostered a culture of fear through insults, where even Armenian men today feel powerless to defend the dignity of their wives and daughters,” he penned.

“We will turn Armenia into a prosperous country. Poverty will become a thing of the past and the public discourse will be cleansed of profane language. We will continue to fight,” Karapetyan added.