PACE urged to condemn Armenia's ruling party for drawing church into politics

Armenian human rights lawyer Ruben Melikyan has urged the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to take a stronger position against the ruling Civil Contract party’s efforts to draw the Armenian Apostolic Church into politics.

Melikyan’s remarks came after PACE’s pre-election delegation issued an interim statement on May 13, following its May 11-12 visit to Yerevan. The delegation noted “the unprecedented involvement of the Armenian Apostolic Church in politics” among several concerns about Armenia’s electoral environment.

In his response, Melikyan stated that multiple archbishops, bishops and priests had abandoned their vows by openly supporting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his party. He further claimed that some clergy had shifted from preaching religious doctrine to promoting what he called “Aliyev’s peace”, referring to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

“I call on PACE to condemn more specifically the Civil Contract party’s efforts to drag the church into politics,” Melikyan said.