Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, a frontrunner in protests towards the PM, is accused of a plot to overthrow the federal government.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says safety officers have thwarted a coup plot involving a number one cleric from Armenia’s nationwide church.
The arrest of Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, chief of the opposition motion Holy Battle, on Wednesday marks a pointy escalation in Pashinyan’s standoff with the management of the highly effective Apostolic Church.
The church’s chief, Catholicos Garegin II, has known as for Pashinyan’s resignation after Armenia misplaced a battle to Azerbaijan in 2020, whereas Galstanyan, the primate of the Diocese of Tavush, led mass protests final yr, aiming to unseat the prime minister, channelling widespread public anger over army defeats and territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
“Legislation enforcement officers prevented a big and sinister plan by the ‘criminal-oligarchic clergy’ to destabilize the Republic of Armenia and seize energy,” Pashinyan wrote on Fb on Wednesday, sharing an announcement by Armenia’s Investigative Committee.
The committee mentioned it had filed felony expenses towards Galstanyan and 15 others, who they mentioned had “acquired the means and instruments essential to commit a terrorist assault and seize energy”.
A complete of 14 folks had been arrested, investigators mentioned, with out naming them.
The committee’s assertion claimed that Galstanyan — who has beforehand expressed his want to switch Pashinyan as prime minister, though he’s unable to carry workplace as a result of being a twin Armenian-Canadian citizen — sought to overthrow the federal government with the assistance of his supporters.
It mentioned the group had recruited about 1,000 folks, primarily former troopers and cops, and divided them into strike teams, assigning every a job to destabilise the nation, by blocking roads, inciting violence or blocking the web.
It claimed that the group had acquired weapons, explosives, and different harmful supplies in preparation for the plot.
It mentioned searches have been below manner on the properties of Galstanyan and about 30 of his associates.
The committee additionally printed audio recordings purporting to disclose Galstanyan and others discussing plans for the alleged coup plot.
‘We’re coming’
Information.am, an Armenian information web site, printed footage of Galstanyan being taken from his home right into a automobile by masked cops, and pushed away.
“Evil, hear fastidiously – no matter you do, you will have little or no time left. Maintain on, we’re coming,” he mentioned, in an obvious reference to Pashinyan, as a crowd exterior shouted “Nikol is a traitor”, the AFP information company reported.
A lawmaker near Galstanyan, Garnik Danielyan, mentioned the raids have been “actions of a dictatorial regime” and mentioned the accusations towards the archbishop have been fabricated, AFP reported.
Wednesday’s developments comply with the arrest of one other distinguished authorities opponent earlier this month, when Russian-Armenian actual property billionaire Samvel Karapetyan was detained on accusations of constructing public calls to usurp energy, the Reuters information company reported.
Divided nation
Armenia’s humiliating army defeat by Azerbaijan, ensuing within the 2023 loss of Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist enclave in Azerbaijan, has left bitter divisions in Armenia, notably between Pashinyan and the Apostolic Church.
Earlier this month, Pashinyan unsuccessfully tried to oust Garegin II as the top of the church, calling on the trustworthy to elect a brand new non secular chief to “liberate” the church, AFP reported.
Russia, a treaty ally of Armenia, mentioned the alleged coup plot was an inside matter for Yerevan, however had an curiosity in calm and order being maintained, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned.
