Armenia’s political temperature climbed sharply after the country’s first president, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, accused Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of fomenting instability and compared him to Muammar Gaddafi and Saddam Hussein in a lengthy Facebook post. Ter-Petrosyan labeled Pashinyan “the main factor in destabilising Armenia’s domestic political life,” warning that the prime minister’s “impulsive course of action” is dividing the nation rather than uniting it.
The remarks were reported by OC Media, which noted that Ter-Petrosyan argued some leaders “unintentionally or deliberately” create instability, explicitly naming Gaddafi and Hussein while drawing a parallel to Pashinyan.
In his post, Ter-Petrosyan faulted Pashinyan’s handling of multiple flashpoints that have deepened Armenia’s political rifts. He criticized the government’s response to the grievances of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenian refugees, saying the prime minister’s “reproaches, insults, and at times, vulgar expressions” toward them have inflamed tensions. He also condemned what he called an “unforgivable and dangerous adventurism” against the Armenian Apostolic Church that began in late May—an initiative he said “was aborted due to strong nationwide counteraction.” The church dispute escalated after Pashinyan and his wife publicly accused clergy members of serious misconduct, including paedophilia and violating celibacy vows.
The former president further attacked the government’s actions surrounding the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) following the late-June detention of its owner, Samvel Karapetyan, who was accused of calls for the usurpation of power after he spoke in defense of the church. Parliament’s July move to adopt legislative amendments enabling ENA’s nationalisation was, in Ter-Petrosyan’s words, “Pashinyan’s next provocative action” and an “unconstitutional initiative.” He described Karapetyan’s detention and subsequent raids on his businesses as “unlawful punitive actions” that erode the “much-needed stability” in the country. A court has since ruled Karapetyan’s arrest unlawful.
Ter-Petrosyan and Pashinyan, once political allies who led protests together after the 2008 presidential election, followed by Pashinyan’s 2012 parliamentary election with Ter-Petrosyan’s Armenian National Congress, have become fierce adversaries. The split has widened in recent months as Ter-Petrosyan publicly sided with the church, meeting twice with Catholicos Karekin II amid the government’s crackdown. Pashinyan has, in turn, labeled the ex-president a “state-ruining scourge.” In June, he and members of the ruling Civil Contract party accused Ter-Petrosyan of being “the founder of the practice of election fraud” in Armenia.
Ter-Petrosyan concluded his criticism by asserting that the current course of governance is pushing Armenia away from unity and toward deeper fragmentation—a warning likely to intensify an already volatile standoff among the government, the church, opposition figures, and disaffected citizens.
Photo: OC Media