Human rights activist criticises Pashinyan's rhetoric

Armenian human rights activist Nina Karapetyants has accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of exploiting the threat of renewed conflict to secure political support. In a live broadcast on Facebook on Friday, Karapetyants said the prime minister’s message, framed as "It’s either me or war", amounted to blackmailing a nation traumatised by years of violence.

She argued that such rhetoric “terrorises” a population already scarred by war, genocide, mass displacement and thousands of casualties. “How can a country’s leader stand before his people and beg power and votes through the threat of war?” she asked.

Karapetyants also appealed to those who once considered themselves “decent” supporters of Pashinyan, questioning whether they recognised the implications of his statements. In her remarks, she accused government loyalists of conducting a “hybrid war” against their fellow citizens, presenting it as a political strategy while simultaneously offering a “hybrid peace”.