Vazgen Manukyan blasts Armenian church leader's prosecution

Armenian opposition leader Vazgen Manukyan on Tuesday accused the government of crossing another “red line” by opening a criminal case against Catholicos Karekin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and imposing a ban on his travel abroad.

In a statement, Manukyan, chairman of the National Democratic Union, said authorities had launched criminal proceedings against Karekin II and barred him from leaving the country.

“With every red line it crosses, the current government strikes at our state and future,” Manukyan said.

He argued that the authorities had followed a pattern of targeting key institutions under the banner of “cleansing”.

“This began with the thesis of ‘cleansing’ the army,” he said, alleging that weakening and dismantling the armed forces had left the country vulnerable to attack.

He said the government then turned to the judiciary, claiming that efforts to “cleanse” the courts had eroded their independence and undermined their obligation to uphold the law.

“Now it is ‘cleansing’ the church,” Manukyan said, accusing the authorities of seeking to weaken the Armenian Apostolic Church, which he described as a 1,700-year-old spiritual pillar of the Armenian people.

He warned that the next “red line” would involve “the life and family of every citizen”, adding that the government would attempt to impose further measures to ultimately damage the nation and the state.

“How long are we going to tolerate this?” Manukyan said.