Strong Armenia vows to continue political struggle

The opposition Strong Armenia party has pledged to continue its struggle dispute an unprecedented campaign of pressure and intimidation ahead of the country's June 7 parliamentary elections, its member said on Thursday.

Writing on social media, Arega Hovsepyan said the group had largely refrained from speaking publicly about the pressure during the election campaign, arguing that doing so would have shifted attention away from its political message and onto an agenda set by the authorities.

"We believed that was the agenda the authorities wanted to impose on us — to distract us from our own priorities," Hovsepyan said.

She stated that hundreds of people connected to the party were summoned for questioning by investigators and described the actions as an unprecedented crackdown in the history of Armenia's Third Republic.

Hovsepyan said she was among those called in by the Investigative Committee.

"I can now say that I, too, was summoned to the Investigative Committee. Apparently, they considered me a major threat to the Republic of Armenia," she said.

According to Hovsepyan, nearly all members of the party were questioned, though most were subsequently released without further action.

Despite the pressure, she said, Strong Armenia had succeeded in maintaining its organizational structure and core membership while mounting an election campaign only four months after the party's formation.

"The fact that a political force established just four months ago was able to preserve its team, enter the campaign and go through this entire process with dignity is a significant achievement," she said.

Hovsepyan praised party activists for remaining committed throughout the campaign.

"Not a single person stepped back," she said. "That is the kind of team Strong Armenia has."

"We have made a political decision: the struggle continues," Hovsepyan added.