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Hayk Mamijanyan - Freedom of Speech at Risk in Armenia, Vagharshapat, RPA Strategy | Ep 487, Nov 19, 2025

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Freedom of Speech at Risk in Armenia, Vagharshapat, RPA Strategy  | Ep 487, Nov 19, 2025

Conversations on Groong - Recorded on: November 18, 2025

Topics

  • Freedom of Expression at Risk in Armenia
  • Vagharshapat Municipal Outcomes
  • Republican Party Election Strategy
  • Stand in Support of Independent Media and Journalism in Armenia


Guest

Hosts


Episode 487 | Recorded: November 18, 2025

SHOW NOTES: https://podcasts.groong.org/487


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Asbed (00:00:04):

Hello, everyone, and welcome to this Conversations on Groong episode.

Asbed (00:00:08):

We're continuing to discuss the gross violations of the freedom of speech and

Asbed (00:00:12):

attack on independent media in Armenia.

Asbed (00:00:15):

A few days ago,

Asbed (00:00:16):

we talked about the arrest of the hosts of the Imnemnini podcast being arrested and

Asbed (00:00:21):

thrown in jail. So we're continuing to highlight this issue today as well.

Asbed (00:00:25):

And we are joined by Haik Mamijanyan,

Asbed (00:00:28):

who leads the Parliamentary Opposition Alliance,

Asbed (00:00:30):

Patil Unem.

Asbed (00:00:31):

I have honor.

Asbed (00:00:33):

Mr. Mamijanyan, welcome back to the Groom podcast.

Hayk (00:00:37):

Thank you very much.

Hayk (00:00:38):

Thanks for having me.

Hayk (00:00:40):

Sorry for the absence of video.

Hayk (00:00:42):

This time it will be audio only,

Hayk (00:00:44):

but if you invite me once more,

Hayk (00:00:47):

I will be more than glad to arrange the video as well.

Hayk (00:00:50):

Thank you for the invite.

Hovik (00:00:51):

Of course, of course.

Asbed (00:00:52):

We'll be happy to invite you, always.

Hovik (00:00:55):

Okay,

Hovik (00:00:56):

let's begin with our discussion with the rampant assault on freedom of expression

Hovik (00:01:04):

by the regime in Armenia.

Hovik (00:01:06):

And the latest instance of it was on November 12,

Hovik (00:01:09):

when Vazgen Saghatelyan and Narek Samsonyan were arrested by masked NSS police.

Hovik (00:01:16):

NSS means National Security Service.

Hovik (00:01:18):

So,

Hovik (00:01:19):

you know,

Hovik (00:01:20):

when you think of that, you think of foreign spies,

Hovik (00:01:22):

you think of intelligence agents,

Hovik (00:01:24):

counterintelligence,

Hovik (00:01:25):

things that affect the national security of Armenia.

Hovik (00:01:28):

So this NSS raided and searched also their homes, but also their...

Hovik (00:01:34):

anti-fake AM studio and seized all their equipment including tripods,

Hovik (00:01:40):

including microphones and we'll of course include a link to their YouTube channel

Hovik (00:01:44):

and this is an opportunity if you're not subscribed to them to show your support

Hovik (00:01:47):

and also subscribe.

Hovik (00:01:49):

So the end result was that Samsonian and Saghatelyan were charged with hooliganism

Hovik (00:01:55):

And of course, I should say that they have been arrested in the past for hooliganism.

Hovik (00:02:00):

And again, it was related to something they said.

Hovik (00:02:03):

So hooliganism in Armenia apparently by this new regime has been redefined to mean

Hovik (00:02:08):

something you express.

Hovik (00:02:09):

And we can discuss what they talked about.

Hovik (00:02:11):

But this episode was preceded by a large podcast with an interview with Serge

Hovik (00:02:19):

Sarkisian,

Hovik (00:02:20):

the third president of Armenia.

Hovik (00:02:22):

So after that almost seven-hour interview,

Hovik (00:02:25):

a number of civil contract-affiliated influencers started attacking the podcast

Hovik (00:02:29):

hosts.

Hovik (00:02:30):

And of course,

Hovik (00:02:31):

government representatives also joined in,

Hovik (00:02:34):

notably Alen Simonyan,

Hovik (00:02:35):

who always seems to be in the top of the cast of characters when these attacks

Hovik (00:02:40):

happen.

Hovik (00:02:41):

He called, and I'm sorry for repeating this, but we should be truthful to the record, right?

Hovik (00:02:47):

He called Narek and Vazgen sons of dogs, or in Armenian ...

Hovik (00:02:51):

This was...

Hovik (00:02:53):

The first,

Hovik (00:02:54):

I guess, you know,

Hovik (00:02:55):

when you're looking at,

Hovik (00:02:56):

you know, using insults,

Hovik (00:02:57):

you should,

Hovik (00:02:59):

you know, you should consider this.

Hovik (00:03:00):

So, of course, Narek and Vazgen responded to this verbal attack in kind.

Hovik (00:03:06):

Others would say it was too mild.

Hovik (00:03:08):

But the end result was that so-called parliament speaker,

Hovik (00:03:12):

Alen Simonyan, submitted a complaint to...

Hovik (00:03:14):

the police and demanded that the police arrest the podcasters.

Hovik (00:03:18):

And miraculously, the NSS appeared at the doors of these podcast hosts.

Hovik (00:03:23):

Mr. Mamijanyan, again, thanks for coming on our podcast.

Hovik (00:03:27):

Can you please tell us your interpretation of these events?

Hovik (00:03:32):

I believe you were also present shortly after or during the arrests.

Hovik (00:03:36):

What can you tell us about what happened?

Hayk (00:03:39):

Well, first of all,

Hayk (00:03:40):

thank you and thank you for presenting the whole story with the whole details.

Hayk (00:03:46):

The chronography and the events were

Hayk (00:03:49):

just right as they were.

Hayk (00:03:51):

So I couldn't be there when the Narek and Vazgen got arrested,

Hayk (00:03:56):

but I went to their office where the anti-fake agency is working.

Hayk (00:04:02):

I couldn't enter it because they have already started the search.

Hayk (00:04:08):

Then we went to the investigative committee with all the supporters,

Hayk (00:04:12):

and afterwards,

Hayk (00:04:13):

in the evening,

Hayk (00:04:14):

late night, I would say,

Hayk (00:04:16):

We were present near the courtroom waiting for the so-called verdict.

Hayk (00:04:22):

This story has, let's name it like that, two layers.

Hayk (00:04:26):

First of all,

Hayk (00:04:27):

it's an attack on freedom of expression,

Hayk (00:04:29):

of course,

Hayk (00:04:30):

on the individuals,

Hayk (00:04:32):

the bloggers,

Hayk (00:04:33):

the activists,

Hayk (00:04:35):

using the...

Hayk (00:04:37):

fabricated charges.

Hayk (00:04:39):

The second time,

Hayk (00:04:40):

I want to remind you that the first time they were charged for the so-called

Hayk (00:04:45):

hooliganism,

Hayk (00:04:47):

they were granted the decision.

Hayk (00:04:50):

They are innocent.

Hayk (00:04:51):

They were exonerated.

Hayk (00:04:52):

Of course,

Hayk (00:04:53):

the prosecutors appealed to change the decision,

Hayk (00:04:57):

and it's in process,

Hayk (00:04:58):

but they were exonerated.

Hayk (00:05:01):

So first level, of course, they're political prisoners.

Hayk (00:05:05):

Of course, it's an attack of freedom of speech on the individual levels when we're there for

Hayk (00:05:12):

them and we're with them.

Hayk (00:05:14):

But there's a second layer,

Hayk (00:05:16):

which is it is an attack on the media because they got all the equipment,

Hayk (00:05:24):

as you have mentioned.

Hayk (00:05:25):

I cannot imagine why they were taking the tripods.

Hayk (00:05:29):

It has no memory in it.

Hayk (00:05:30):

It has no camera in it.

Hayk (00:05:32):

So it was an exact attack on the media.

Hayk (00:05:35):

Their target and their mission was to shut them down.

Hayk (00:05:39):

Because the first time they got arrested, there was a movement so-called.

Hayk (00:05:45):

Different people continued their work.

Hayk (00:05:47):

They were working as the hosts of the Imnemnini podcast.

Hayk (00:05:50):

It got much more attention, much more coverage and much more views.

Hayk (00:05:54):

So this time they corrected their own mistake.

Hayk (00:05:58):

Of course, I speak figuratively.

Hayk (00:06:01):

And they tried to shut the media down.

Hayk (00:06:04):

Thanks to the supporters, the guys are...

Hayk (00:06:08):

have solved the problems and the Imnemnini podcasts went on air as usual on their

Hayk (00:06:14):

usual time on Saturday night.

Hayk (00:06:17):

But the fact is that this process and these deeds have two layers.

Hayk (00:06:22):

The first one is the individual level,

Hayk (00:06:25):

as all the other political prisoners,

Hayk (00:06:28):

which are more than 40 in our country.

Hayk (00:06:31):

It's outrageous.

Hayk (00:06:33):

And the second level is the attack on media.

Hayk (00:06:36):

And I have to speak about,

Hayk (00:06:38):

I'm sure you've heard,

Hayk (00:06:41):

that a few days ago,

Hayk (00:06:43):

the same Alen Simonian wrote a letter to the general prosecutor regarding the

Hayk (00:06:49):

building of the Union of the Journalists.

Hovik (00:06:52):

Yes, yes.

Hayk (00:06:53):

It was headed by Satik Seyranyan,

Hayk (00:06:56):

who is also the editor-in-chief of the 168 Hours,

Hayk (00:07:02):

Arvatsunu Jam,

Hayk (00:07:03):

which is very well-known and important.

Hayk (00:07:06):

media outlet, news outlet in Armenia.

Hayk (00:07:10):

And the process is initiated by the general prosecutor by the order of Alen

Hayk (00:07:15):

Simonyan to nationalize some kind of the building where the Union of Journalists

Hayk (00:07:24):

is working where the 168 hours news outlet is working and some other news outlets.

Hayk (00:07:34):

So it's the second attack on media resource during one week and both initiated by Alen Simonyan.

Hayk (00:07:43):

That's the truth of the last week in Armenia.

Hovik (00:07:47):

Mr. Mamijanyan,

Hovik (00:07:48):

I have to say, yes, I spoke,

Hovik (00:07:50):

I was personally out of the country,

Hovik (00:07:51):

but I spoke with Ms.

Hovik (00:07:53):

Seyranyan today.

Hovik (00:07:55):

I have to say that she is one of the most prominent and veteran journalists of Armenia.

Hovik (00:08:01):

She has been reporting in Armenia since the 90s, essentially.

Hovik (00:08:07):

And, you know, I want to ask you,

Hovik (00:08:08):

and I want to relay,

Hovik (00:08:11):

actually, I want to relay what she told me.

Hovik (00:08:13):

in that this attack by Alan Simonian and government representatives was accompanied

Hovik (00:08:19):

by a massive torrent of attacks by fake users,

Hovik (00:08:25):

and they even went to the point of generating AI,

Hovik (00:08:30):

either imagery or videos,

Hovik (00:08:31):

I'm not certain,

Hovik (00:08:33):

of her,

Hovik (00:08:34):

you know, as a female,

Hovik (00:08:36):

as a mother,

Hovik (00:08:37):

trying to cast doubt upon her honor.

Hovik (00:08:40):

And, you know, she has...

Hovik (00:08:41):

I don't want to go into too much into personal details,

Hovik (00:08:44):

but it's one thing to be a journalist and one thing to be a young male in Armenia,

Hovik (00:08:49):

but we know that as a female journalist,

Hovik (00:08:54):

it's even harder.

Hovik (00:08:56):

Have you talked to your colleagues in international circles

Hovik (00:09:01):

We remember times when they used to cry about women's rights in Armenia,

Hovik (00:09:05):

how women are being targeted.

Hovik (00:09:07):

This seems to be like a new additional layer on top of everything else that we're seeing.

Hayk (00:09:12):

Well, two parts of the question.

Hayk (00:09:15):

First of all, yes, and it's the new normal in our country, unfortunately.

Hayk (00:09:22):

Fake user attacks, generation of videos, photos, collage.

Hayk (00:09:30):

It's something that all the politicians and public activists in Armenia are passing.

Hayk (00:09:36):

And it's much more disgusting when it's toward a female, a journalist or a politician.

Hayk (00:09:46):

It's one more layer of how silent international organizations are.

Hayk (00:09:53):

So when we speak about the political prisoners in our country and the silence of

Hayk (00:09:58):

the international organizations,

Hayk (00:10:00):

yes, it's very important.

Hayk (00:10:02):

And it's one layer.

Hayk (00:10:04):

But then you add the layer that you were speaking about.

Hayk (00:10:08):

Yes, you're right. There were many organizations inside and outside Armenia that they were...

Hayk (00:10:14):

always trying to present the deeds before the 18 as a violation of the women's rights.

Hayk (00:10:22):

But they are silent now when Satik Seyranyan and during these years,

Hayk (00:10:29):

when Satik Seyranyan was targeted,

Hayk (00:10:31):

when Anna Mkrtchyan was targeted,

Hayk (00:10:33):

when Taguhi Tovmasyan was targeted,

Hayk (00:10:36):

when Anna Grigoryan was targeted,

Hayk (00:10:38):

and I won't go name by name,

Hayk (00:10:41):

and all our other colleagues.

Hayk (00:10:44):

So yes,

Hayk (00:10:45):

it's a nuisance,

Hayk (00:10:47):

but their silence doesn't mean that we don't have to work,

Hayk (00:10:52):

continue to work.

Hayk (00:10:54):

Yes, we're writing letters to our international colleagues regarding each case,

Hayk (00:11:03):

and we are going to write them during these few days regarding these cases.

Hayk (00:11:10):

Of course,

Hayk (00:11:11):

the problem of political prisoners is a top priority for us during any meeting with

Hayk (00:11:16):

our international colleagues.

Hayk (00:11:18):

And it doesn't matter if they don't speak, they remain silent, but we have to inform them.

Hayk (00:11:25):

It's our job.

Hayk (00:11:26):

And of course, we are paying attention to it.

Hayk (00:11:29):

And it's a continuous project.

Asbed (00:11:31):

Mr. Mamijanyan, like you said, the silence of the international NGOs is a major concern.

Asbed (00:11:38):

But another major concern that we have is the due process and the independence of

Asbed (00:11:44):

the various ministries from the executive government.

Asbed (00:11:46):

For example, the same thing happened back in June when Samvel Garabedian spoke up.

Asbed (00:11:51):

You remember the whole Mer Dzevov issue.

Asbed (00:11:54):

Basically,

Asbed (00:11:55):

the prime minister got on Facebook,

Asbed (00:11:57):

said something,

Asbed (00:11:58):

and essentially that turned out to be an order to put Samvel Karapetyan in jail in

Asbed (00:12:03):

indefinite pretrial detention.

Asbed (00:12:05):

Can you talk a little bit about the level of independence that the judiciary,

Asbed (00:12:10):

the law enforcement agencies have from the prime minister?

Asbed (00:12:14):

It seems like we do not have this separation of powers.

Asbed (00:12:19):

In a democracy, this has got to be a given.

Asbed (00:12:22):

We don't have this.

Hayk (00:12:24):

Well, with all the respect you asked, but I cannot speak about fictional things.

Hayk (00:12:32):

It's impossible.

Hayk (00:12:33):

There is no... Yeah, it's important to hear.

Asbed (00:12:36):

I mean, from the diaspora, it's important to hear this from a parliamentarian to say this.

Asbed (00:12:41):

Thank you.

Hayk (00:12:42):

Well, let's start from the beginning.

Hayk (00:12:44):

There was a system,

Hayk (00:12:45):

maybe I will go too far,

Hayk (00:12:47):

but it's important for you to see the pattern of behavior.

Hayk (00:12:51):

There was a system that was bought and installed by the money of the European Union.

Hayk (00:12:58):

It was a grant project.

Hayk (00:13:00):

Back then, if I'm not mistaken, in 2017 or something like that.

Hayk (00:13:04):

Well, it's a big system regarding the judiciary, I mean software.

Hayk (00:13:09):

But one of the core parts of it is that the judge is assigned to the case randomly.

Hayk (00:13:19):

So there is no human interference.

Hayk (00:13:22):

If the case goes to the court,

Hayk (00:13:25):

computer randomly decides which judge will be the judge for the case.

Hayk (00:13:32):

And

Hayk (00:13:33):

Starting from 2020,

Hayk (00:13:34):

this system somehow stopped to work and the judges are assigned to the cases by

Hayk (00:13:44):

hand.

Hayk (00:13:46):

Well, they say that it's an alphabetical order,

Hayk (00:13:49):

but it somehow happens that all the political prisoners,

Hayk (00:13:53):

all the cases of political prisoners regarding pre-trial detention,

Hayk (00:13:58):

well, 80% of them are assigned to Massis Melkonyan,

Hayk (00:14:04):

who is,

Hayk (00:14:05):

well,

Hayk (00:14:06):

he was a member of a party,

Hayk (00:14:07):

I mean,

Hayk (00:14:08):

Hanrapetutyun party,

Hayk (00:14:09):

the party of Aram Sargsyan.

Hayk (00:14:12):

And then he stopped his party membership and became the very loyal judge to Pashinyan.

Hayk (00:14:19):

And 80% of cases,

Hayk (00:14:20):

including Narek's and Vazgen's case,

Hayk (00:14:23):

including Karapetyan's first case and many others,

Hayk (00:14:27):

and some of the archbishops,

Hayk (00:14:29):

were assigned to him.

Hayk (00:14:32):

So this is the so-called deep analysis of only one of the examples of judiciary.

Hayk (00:14:39):

Of course,

Hayk (00:14:40):

the Facebook status ordering of the court decision in case of Karapetian person who

Hayk (00:14:48):

was only protecting his own,

Hayk (00:14:50):

our own church.

Hayk (00:14:52):

And that's all.

Hayk (00:14:54):

Well, it's the 92nd sentence, which was the reason of his pretrial arrest.

Hayk (00:15:01):

He's in jail for almost six months.

Hayk (00:15:06):

And today there was a court hearing prolonging his arrest for two more months.

Hayk (00:15:15):

Same story with the archbishops.

(00:15:17):

That's right.

Hayk (00:15:18):

Same story with the member of the parliament, my colleague and my friend, Arthur Sargsyan.

Hayk (00:15:24):

And all the others, as I mentioned, more than 40 political prisoners.

Hayk (00:15:28):

And of course,

Hayk (00:15:30):

it's important to mention Lydia Mantashyan,

Hayk (00:15:33):

who is the only female political prisoner from the Srbazan Baykar.

Hayk (00:15:38):

And she's in jail for six months.

Asbed (00:15:43):

Yeah,

Asbed (00:15:44):

it's a pattern of force and it's become a template of dealing with detractors by

Asbed (00:15:50):

this government,

Asbed (00:15:51):

unfortunately.

Hovik (00:15:56):

You talked about the judiciary aspect of it, but even before,

Hovik (00:16:01):

an issue goes to, in front of a judge, of course there are investigations, right?

Hovik (00:16:06):

So all these obvious cases of attacks,

Hovik (00:16:10):

well, Alen Simonian,

Hovik (00:16:11):

he miraculously has parliamentary immunity,

Hovik (00:16:16):

and no one is going to,

Hovik (00:16:18):

we know that no one is going to apply to the parliament to strip him of that

Hovik (00:16:23):

immunity, even though when it comes to the opposition,

Hovik (00:16:25):

that's like a well-known tool set.

Hovik (00:16:29):

But there are other attacks against people,

Hovik (00:16:32):

against opposition members,

Hovik (00:16:34):

including vile attacks,

Hovik (00:16:35):

including,

Hovik (00:16:36):

as we said, fabricated video.

Hovik (00:16:38):

Are you aware whether the police is investigating these attacks also in a fair manner?

Hovik (00:16:45):

It seems like the only investigations that get launched are the ones that are

Hovik (00:16:48):

against opposition and for frivolous things,

Hovik (00:16:53):

like saying someone is a SOB or something.

Hayk (00:16:56):

Of course,

Hayk (00:16:57):

let's start from one of the cases when you know,

Hayk (00:17:02):

you've heard that church,

Hayk (00:17:04):

Armenian Apostolic Church,

Hayk (00:17:07):

has applied to the law saying,

Hayk (00:17:11):

that one of the church that is he just decided the former who is now this race and

Hayk (00:17:22):

has his name just decided to change the locks

Hayk (00:17:28):

of the church of Hovannavank, which is a marvelous church.

Hayk (00:17:33):

It's near Ashtarak city.

Hayk (00:17:34):

I'm sure many of you have visited it.

Hayk (00:17:37):

It's near Saghmosavank.

Hayk (00:17:42):

So it's a marvelous church.

Hayk (00:17:44):

And he just decided to change the locks and that the church belongs to him.

Hayk (00:17:50):

And Armenian Apostolic Church applied to the law saying, this is my property.

Hayk (00:17:56):

And it's the property of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Hayk (00:17:59):

Please remove him from there.

Hayk (00:18:01):

They didn't even start the case.

Hayk (00:18:04):

They left the paper hanging out to dry.

Hayk (00:18:09):

Another case is when,

Hayk (00:18:11):

for exact same words said by MP Artur Hovannisyan and a positional activist,

Hayk (00:18:21):

activist is charged,

Hayk (00:18:22):

and the case is at the moment in

Hayk (00:18:25):

Yes, it's in court, if I'm not mistaken.

Hayk (00:18:28):

But again,

Hayk (00:18:29):

there was a paper regarding Artur Hovannisyan,

Hayk (00:18:32):

and again,

Hayk (00:18:33):

it was refused by the investigative comment.

Hayk (00:18:36):

The case when Edgar Ghazaryan, a public activist, was beaten, there is no positive dynamic in it.

Hovik (00:18:47):

Yeah.

Hovik (00:18:48):

The investigation,

Hovik (00:18:49):

I remember that the investigation went on for years and the individuals that were

Hovik (00:18:53):

videotaped beating up Edgar Ghazaryan were allowed to be in freedom during the.

Hovik (00:19:01):

Yeah. And they were eventually.

Hovik (00:19:02):

Yeah.

Hovik (00:19:03):

Yeah.

Hayk (00:19:05):

Well, they are not exonerated yet, but they're out.

Hayk (00:19:09):

They're free.

Hovik (00:19:11):

They're not in pretrial detention.

Hayk (00:19:12):

No, no, no, no, no.

Hovik (00:19:13):

Yet, if you say something, the NSS didn't go and arrest them, I guess, right?

Hayk (00:19:18):

Yeah, yeah. If they say something against Pashinyan, in a moment.

Hayk (00:19:21):

Right.

Hovik (00:19:22):

Okay,

Hovik (00:19:23):

well,

Hovik (00:19:25):

I mean, this is a dire situation,

Hovik (00:19:27):

and,

Hovik (00:19:28):

you know, if you're listening to us from international media,

Hovik (00:19:31):

if you're a journalist,

Hovik (00:19:32):

then my call to you would be to pitch to your editors to write a story about

Hovik (00:19:38):

Armenia,

Hovik (00:19:39):

because I think this deserves immense,

Hovik (00:19:41):

you know,

Hovik (00:19:42):

not even, this deserves coverage in international media.

Hovik (00:19:45):

Unfortunately,

Hovik (00:19:48):

in the current geopolitical climate,

Hovik (00:19:50):

it seems like the same day that these activists were arrested,

Hovik (00:19:55):

one of the,

Hovik (00:19:57):

I forget which medium,

Hovik (00:19:59):

they printed an article saying that Pashinyan requires support of the West against

Hovik (00:20:06):

Putin. So it's always pitched from, it's always

Hovik (00:20:10):

framed from perspective of geopolitics.

Hovik (00:20:12):

But I think that these are such simple issues that they should transcend beyond geopolitics.

Hovik (00:20:18):

So my call to our listeners would be to let your friends know about this issue.

Hovik (00:20:27):

If they are in media, then to make sure that they can cover this incident.

Asbed (00:20:33):

Let me put my pitch also.

Asbed (00:20:35):

Share this show.

Asbed (00:20:36):

Please,

Asbed (00:20:37):

if you're listening,

Asbed (00:20:38):

share this show with your friends and your colleagues and get the word out.

Asbed (00:20:42):

Thank you so much.

Hovik (00:20:43):

Mr. Mamijanian, yeah.

Hovik (00:20:45):

So let's talk about another topic while we have you, and we appreciate your time.

Hovik (00:20:50):

On Sunday, the city of Vagharshapat, the location of Etchmiadzin, the holy sea of Etchmiadzin,

Hovik (00:20:59):

held elections on November 16th, to be precise.

Hovik (00:21:04):

And it was viewed as a symbolic election because of the attacks against the church and so forth.

Hovik (00:21:11):

The turnout was moderate, around 45%.

Hovik (00:21:14):

And the end result was that civil contract appears to have gotten about 48.5% of the vote.

Hovik (00:21:21):

Of course,

Hovik (00:21:22):

they also have a minority party called the Republic Party that also got four

Hovik (00:21:28):

percent.

Hovik (00:21:29):

So between the two of them, but even without them, I think that they can form a majority.

Hayk (00:21:35):

I'm terribly sorry for interrupting, but

Hayk (00:21:39):

The story is that Hanrapetutyun, the proxy party that you were speaking about, didn't get the 4%.

Hovik (00:21:45):

Oh, they got 3.6%.

Hovik (00:21:47):

I was looking at the initial story.

Hayk (00:21:50):

But you are right.

Hayk (00:21:51):

I'm sorry, but you are right.

Hayk (00:21:54):

Civic Contract will get the majority because of so-called bonuses.

Hayk (00:21:58):

It's the system when the percentage of the votes that was among the parties that

Hayk (00:22:06):

didn't get the threshold...

Asbed (00:22:08):

They bumped them up to 54%, I think, right?

Asbed (00:22:10):

Yes,

Hayk (00:22:11):

and it's divided into the parties that had passed the threshold with the proportion

Hayk (00:22:17):

that they got.

Hayk (00:22:18):

So most of the bonus gets the civic contract, and yes, they have a majority.

Hayk (00:22:23):

I'm terribly sorry for interrupting, but not too long.

Hovik (00:22:26):

No, no, this is good.

Hovik (00:22:28):

I was looking at more earlier results.

Hovik (00:22:32):

Yeah, sorry about that.

Hovik (00:22:33):

So...

Hovik (00:22:35):

There were a number of irregularities reported.

Hovik (00:22:38):

We talked about it on our Week in Review podcast.

Hovik (00:22:42):

But I wanted to get your opinion on the results of this election.

Hovik (00:22:46):

Would you call it free and fair?

Hovik (00:22:48):

And what are the flaws that you see or if you see any?

Hayk (00:22:52):

Well, first of all, regarding the process of the elections and the pre-election process.

Hayk (00:22:59):

The administrative resource was used 150%.

Hayk (00:23:05):

So even the posters of the candidate from the civic contract,

Hayk (00:23:09):

who was the sitting mayor,

Hayk (00:23:11):

posted,

Hayk (00:23:12):

were put on the streets and on the buildings by the workers of the municipality.

Hayk (00:23:21):

So this is the level of the administrative resource was used.

Hayk (00:23:25):

Of course, all the people who work at the

Hayk (00:23:28):

Municipality were made to vote for them.

Hayk (00:23:32):

They made to participate at the rallies, etc.

Hayk (00:23:38):

All the relatives of the candidates of the oppositional blocs were fired from the

Hayk (00:23:44):

municipality and from the state organization.

Hayk (00:23:48):

There were investigations and searches in the houses of a few candidates.

Hayk (00:23:57):

And even before this,

Hayk (00:23:59):

the very important story is that there was the region of Vagharshapat,

Hayk (00:24:09):

which, yes,

Hayk (00:24:10):

included Etchmiadzin,

Hayk (00:24:11):

the holy city of Etchmiadzin,

Hayk (00:24:13):

and the near villages.

Hayk (00:24:15):

And there was a village, a group of villages, another region, which was called Khoy.

Hayk (00:24:22):

For you to understand, there are approximately 90,000 voters in Khoy.

Hayk (00:24:30):

And there are approximately 40,000 voters in Vagharshapat.

Hayk (00:24:35):

They united these two regions.

Hovik (00:24:37):

Yeah.

Hayk (00:24:38):

Called it Big Vagharshapat, well, Vagharshapat region.

Hovik (00:24:41):

United region.

Hovik (00:24:42):

Yeah, enlarged.

Hayk (00:24:44):

Enlarged, yeah, the Vagharshapat region.

Hayk (00:24:46):

This candidate from the civic contract, Mekhakyan, Arkishti Mekhakyan, was the mayor of Khoy.

Hayk (00:24:55):

And as you can imagine,

Hayk (00:24:59):

oppositional candidates won in the city,

Hayk (00:25:04):

the former region,

Hayk (00:25:06):

the Vagharshapat.

Hayk (00:25:08):

And the reason they lost all election is this because there were too many votes in

Hayk (00:25:14):

Khoi region,

Hayk (00:25:15):

which is now united with Vagharshapat.

Hayk (00:25:17):

But maybe I tried to explain the story.

Hovik (00:25:21):

Yeah, it was under the cover of reform of municipal municipalities.

Hovik (00:25:27):

But when was this change done?

Hayk (00:25:30):

It was done a few months before the elections,

Hayk (00:25:34):

just after the previous mayor of Vagharshapat,

Hayk (00:25:41):

which is now charged for corruption,

Hayk (00:25:43):

member of civic control.

Asbed (00:25:45):

Diana.

Hayk (00:25:45):

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hayk (00:25:48):

Yeah, Diana Gasparyan.

Hayk (00:25:50):

resigned.

Hayk (00:25:51):

Just after that, they made this reform.

Hayk (00:25:54):

And yes, there is an enlargement reform in Armenia going on.

Hayk (00:25:59):

But both of these cities, I mean, Khoy and Vagharshapat, were already enlarged.

Hayk (00:26:07):

So this was completely artificial.

Hayk (00:26:10):

It was never like this.

Hayk (00:26:12):

To say, frankly, the elections were rigged months before elections.

Hayk (00:26:17):

Now,

Hayk (00:26:18):

going to the process itself,

Hayk (00:26:20):

first of all,

Hayk (00:26:21):

I want to congratulate all the real oppositional candidates for their votes.

Hayk (00:26:27):

And I wouldn't make this a tragedy.

Hayk (00:26:32):

I want everyone to understand that this is how Pashinyan is conducting the elections.

Hayk (00:26:38):

And we have to be ready for this,

Hayk (00:26:40):

as the Republican Party speaks,

Hayk (00:26:42):

the need of impeachment and the importance of the impeachment process that we have

Hayk (00:26:46):

initiated.

Hayk (00:26:47):

But even if we get to the elections with Pacinia,

Hayk (00:26:51):

we have to understand that he will use the administrative resource,

Hayk (00:26:57):

he is able to use the ridiculous law that he has passed in the parliament a few

Hayk (00:27:02):

months ago,

Hayk (00:27:03):

that he can cancel the result of elections,

Hayk (00:27:07):

and I speak reality at the moment,

Hayk (00:27:09):

you can check it,

Hayk (00:27:10):

that he can cancel the elections,

Hayk (00:27:14):

Even if there is war situation or a catastrophe situation in the country,

Hayk (00:27:22):

even if it happened after the voting centers,

Hayk (00:27:26):

the polls were closed.

Hayk (00:27:28):

I mean, after 8 o'clock.

Asbed (00:27:30):

So he can declare martial law and basically cancel the results.

Hayk (00:27:33):

He can declare martial law and cancel the results, which is ridiculous.

Asbed (00:27:39):

Mr. Mamijanian,

Asbed (00:27:40):

to me, it sounds like there was a district gerrymandering in Vaar Shabbat district.

Asbed (00:27:45):

And you said it's a process of enlargement that's going on around the country.

Asbed (00:27:50):

Does this mean that we have to be aware of gerrymandering around the country so

Asbed (00:27:55):

that civil contract essentially gives itself a majority in all of the areas that it

Asbed (00:28:00):

wants to win for the June 2026 parliamentary elections?

Hayk (00:28:05):

It's possible.

Hayk (00:28:06):

Because, for instance,

Hayk (00:28:08):

when there were elections in Massis region,

Hayk (00:28:11):

which was headed by David Hambardzumyan,

Hayk (00:28:14):

the candidate for the impeachment process.

Asbed (00:28:15):

Who is in jail now.

Hayk (00:28:16):

Who is in jail at the moment.

Hayk (00:28:18):

And fortunately,

Hayk (00:28:20):

on Monday,

Hayk (00:28:21):

we had the elections of the new mayor because David Hambardzumyan from jail

Hayk (00:28:28):

resigned and asked his team to appoint a new,

Hayk (00:28:32):

to elect a new mayor,

Hayk (00:28:33):

not to lose the oppositional mandate.

Hayk (00:28:38):

And successfully, Norair Hakobyan has been elected as a mayor.

Hayk (00:28:42):

of Massis.

Hayk (00:28:43):

But what I'm speaking about,

Hayk (00:28:45):

when David Hambardzumyan,

Hayk (00:28:46):

political prisoner,

Hayk (00:28:47):

David Hambardzumyan was to be elected in Massis,

Hayk (00:28:50):

the same thing happened.

Hayk (00:28:52):

They enlarged Massis with a few villages near it,

Hayk (00:28:56):

but fortunately Mr.

Hayk (00:28:57):

Hambardzumyan succeeded to win in those elections.

Hayk (00:29:00):

So again, this is a pattern of behavior and he can use it in the upcoming elections.

Hayk (00:29:07):

Sorry to add one more thing regarding the symbolism.

Hayk (00:29:11):

of Holy City of Etchmiadzin and losing in Vagharshapat region.

Hayk (00:29:17):

Well, the candidate of the civic contract,

Hayk (00:29:20):

Arkishti Mekhakyan,

Hayk (00:29:22):

has always dodged the question regarding the Catholicos,

Hayk (00:29:27):

regarding the attack on church.

Hayk (00:29:29):

He simply, simply said, I'm not going to answer this question.

Hayk (00:29:34):

So he hasn't said a word about it.

Hayk (00:29:38):

But after the elections,

Hayk (00:29:40):

Pashinyan writes a status with some ridiculous points,

Hayk (00:29:45):

and one of them is that the people has proved that they are backing his attack on

Hayk (00:29:53):

church.

Hayk (00:29:54):

So please pay attention to the cynicism.

Hayk (00:29:59):

So the candidate himself

Hayk (00:30:02):

distances from this story, never answers these questions, dodged the questions.

Hayk (00:30:09):

He has very small logos of the civic contract on his posters, because I think he's ashamed.

Hayk (00:30:16):

Pashinyan himself doesn't show up during the rally, during the campaign.

Hayk (00:30:24):

And after the results of the elections, he manipulates the results and saying that, well,

Hayk (00:30:32):

This is a carte blanche for me to continue the attack on church.

Hayk (00:30:37):

So these are the manipulations of Pashinyan.

Hayk (00:30:43):

I want all the people who are watching from the diaspora to be thinking,

Hayk (00:30:48):

oh, people are okay with everything that happens in Armenia, et cetera, et cetera.

Hayk (00:30:52):

No, they are not.

Hayk (00:30:54):

All this stuff is manipulated.

Asbed (00:30:56):

Mr. Mamijanyan,

Asbed (00:30:57):

in the Vagharshapat elections,

Asbed (00:31:00):

we didn't see any of the parliamentary oppositional parties or alliances.

Asbed (00:31:05):

For example, your Republican Party...

Asbed (00:31:08):

in Pativ Unem and also Hayastan Dashinq.

Asbed (00:31:10):

Now,

Asbed (00:31:11):

I know you don't speak for Hayastan Dashinq,

Asbed (00:31:12):

but why is it in regional elections these two parties are not present?

Hayk (00:31:19):

Well, first of all, at the moment,

Hayk (00:31:23):

As I think that our subscribers have to know all the information,

Hayk (00:31:30):

I will speak about all the parties.

Hayk (00:31:32):

Yes,

Hayk (00:31:33):

I do represent the Republican Party,

Hayk (00:31:35):

but just I want to share the information with our subscribers.

Hayk (00:31:40):

Well, the oppositional factions of the parliament were presented in those elections.

Hayk (00:31:46):

Dashnaktsutyun was in coalition with Aratch party,

Hayk (00:31:51):

And they have formed a dictator alliance, which got the most votes among the opposition.

Asbed (00:31:58):

Right.

Hayk (00:32:00):

So Aratch party itself is associated,

Hayk (00:32:04):

and they confirm it with the second president,

Hayk (00:32:09):

with Mr.

Hayk (00:32:10):

Kocharyan.

Hayk (00:32:11):

Then regarding the party,

Hayk (00:32:13):

well,

Hayk (00:32:14):

the party action was formed from the Republican Party and from the Homeland Party,

Hayk (00:32:20):

which was...

Hayk (00:32:22):

which leader is Artur Vanetsyan.

Hayk (00:32:25):

And Mr. Vanetsyan was participating in these elections.

Hayk (00:32:28):

The candidate was Khachik Manukyan.

Hayk (00:32:31):

And they, well,

Hayk (00:32:32):

they had something like 3 and 8 or 3 and 7,

Hayk (00:32:35):

so it was very little to the threshold.

Asbed (00:32:39):

That was the Homeland Party, I think.

Hayk (00:32:41):

Yep, yep, the Homeland Party.

Hayk (00:32:43):

And Khachik Manukyan is the candidate.

Hayk (00:32:45):

Right.

Hayk (00:32:46):

And the Republican Party, which I have the honor to represent, was very involved in the process.

Hayk (00:32:53):

I don't want to go into details how the work was organized.

Hayk (00:33:00):

But we were dealing with our colleagues from the opposition on the ground and

Hayk (00:33:06):

taking into account the situation.

Hayk (00:33:10):

Our system, our machinery up there was up to for the opposition of candidates as well.

Hayk (00:33:18):

Well, it's the old details.

Hayk (00:33:21):

So the oppositional factions were involved.

Hayk (00:33:24):

Some of them were involved directly and some of them were involved indirectly.

Hayk (00:33:29):

Understood.

Hovik (00:33:31):

Can we talk a little bit about the impeachment process with David Han Bartsubian

Hovik (00:33:36):

currently in jail?

Hovik (00:33:38):

He was the impeachment candidate.

Hovik (00:33:41):

What are the next steps for the opposition?

Hovik (00:33:43):

And while you're talking about that,

Hovik (00:33:47):

also tell us,

Hovik (00:33:48):

is there a backup plan to actively gear up for the 2026 elections,

Hovik (00:33:54):

which are just around the corner?

Hayk (00:33:57):

OK, I will start from the end.

Hayk (00:33:59):

First of all, there is, I don't know, there is a

Hayk (00:34:04):

that the impeachment process and the elections of 2026 are contradicted.

Hovik (00:34:12):

Or mutually exclusive, yeah.

Hayk (00:34:14):

They are not.

Hayk (00:34:15):

So the elections in 2026 are going to happen.

Hayk (00:34:20):

If the impeachment wasn't initiated,

Hayk (00:34:23):

if we win the impeachment,

Hayk (00:34:25):

if we lose the impeachment,

Hayk (00:34:26):

those elections are going to happen.

Hayk (00:34:29):

And yes, political forces has to prepare for any elections.

Hayk (00:34:36):

Well,

Hayk (00:34:37):

there is a joke in politics that you have to prepare for the next elections that

Hayk (00:34:43):

they offer the previous one.

Hayk (00:34:45):

So, first of all, they are not contradicting each other.

Hayk (00:34:50):

They are not mutually exclusive.

Hayk (00:34:53):

There is not such a discussion, this or that.

Hayk (00:34:58):

Regarding the process of impeachment,

Hayk (00:35:01):

first of all,

Hayk (00:35:02):

Mr. Hanbar-Sumyan has the right,

Hayk (00:35:05):

I mean legally,

Hayk (00:35:07):

to continue to be the candidate for the impeachment process until all the appeals

Hayk (00:35:15):

are rejected.

Hayk (00:35:16):

Usually it happens, it takes five to six months, so we are safe on that side.

Hayk (00:35:23):

Regarding the impeachment, we had three phases.

Hayk (00:35:27):

First phase was getting the signatures of all the oppositional MPs.

Hayk (00:35:33):

We got it since September 26.

Hayk (00:35:34):

Now is the phase of the so-called independents, the four independent MPs in the parliament.

Hayk (00:35:44):

Two of them represent their former civic contract members,

Hayk (00:35:50):

I mean Hobbik Hazaran and Hakob Aslanyan.

Hayk (00:35:54):

At the moment we have the word from them,

Hayk (00:35:58):

and it's a public word they have declared,

Hayk (00:36:01):

that they won't be the obstacle for the impeachment process.

Hayk (00:36:06):

In other words,

Hayk (00:36:08):

if we need their two signatures for initiating official process,

Hayk (00:36:15):

they will sign it.

Hayk (00:36:16):

That's the result we have.

Hayk (00:36:18):

Take it or leave it.

Hayk (00:36:20):

We are continuing to

Hayk (00:36:22):

negotiate with them, but at the moment we have this result.

Hayk (00:36:25):

Taking into account Geram Nazaran, who is a former member of Firestone faction.

Hayk (00:36:30):

Well, his public rhetoric is a rule.

Hayk (00:36:33):

I don't get it.

Hayk (00:36:35):

He almost supports Fashinyan.

Hayk (00:36:40):

And I'm choosing my words very, very carefully because his son died.

Hovik (00:36:52):

his son is one of the mortars he is on the record blaming Pashinyan for the death

Hovik (00:36:58):

of his son but we just have to say it so you won't say it but I will and now it

Hayk (00:37:04):

seems like a complete about face in his behavior so we have this story with him and

Hayk (00:37:10):

there is there are negotiation discussions with Iskhan Zakharan who left our

Hayk (00:37:15):

faction I have on our faction and the third phase is the

Hayk (00:37:22):

public pressure on the members of the civic contract action.

Hayk (00:37:29):

Why we have divided into the phases because you can't use the same toolkit with

Hayk (00:37:33):

your colleagues,

Hayk (00:37:35):

positional colleagues,

Hayk (00:37:36):

with independents,

Hayk (00:37:38):

And with Pashinyan's faction, it's obvious.

Hayk (00:37:42):

This stage includes public rallies,

Hayk (00:37:47):

public support,

Hayk (00:37:48):

because all of us understand if there is no street pressure,

Hayk (00:37:53):

let's name it like that,

Hayk (00:37:54):

public pressure with the riots,

Hayk (00:37:56):

with the mobs,

Hayk (00:37:57):

etc.

Hayk (00:37:58):

Of course, I'm speaking about peaceful process.

Hayk (00:38:01):

It would be naive to think that ever any member of the civic contract will sign.

Hayk (00:38:06):

So we will need the public pressure.

Hayk (00:38:08):

for the successful and for the wind of the impeachment process.

Hayk (00:38:15):

And we are working on it.

Asbed (00:38:16):

I was actually going to ask you about that.

Asbed (00:38:19):

What leads you to believe that impeachment is going to work?

Asbed (00:38:21):

Because there is no evidence,

Asbed (00:38:23):

we've talked about this earlier in the show,

Asbed (00:38:25):

there's no evidence that civil contract is going to play by the rules when the

Asbed (00:38:29):

police, the National Security Service is acting as their essentially like private guard.

Hayk (00:38:35):

Well, dear Asbeth,

Hayk (00:38:36):

I will be more than frank with you and our subscribers,

Hayk (00:38:40):

and I have the same frankness with the Armenian voters and citizens up here when

Hayk (00:38:47):

I'm speaking in Armenian media resources.

Hayk (00:38:51):

There is no guarantee for that.

Hayk (00:38:53):

Yes, it's extremely hard.

Hayk (00:38:56):

Extremely.

Hayk (00:38:58):

But, first, I'm not going to count chances on that.

Hayk (00:39:03):

I think...

Hayk (00:39:04):

we are obliged to give a try.

Hayk (00:39:08):

Because, you see, we lose nothing, but we should try.

Hayk (00:39:12):

It's 100% that it won't work if we don't try.

Hayk (00:39:19):

So even if it's 1%, and it's not, it's much more, you have to try.

Hayk (00:39:24):

Because in 2020,

Hayk (00:39:26):

in 2021,

Hayk (00:39:27):

all the political parties that now are in the parliament have promised our

Hayk (00:39:33):

voters...

Hayk (00:39:35):

that we are going to do everything to make Pashinyan go away.

Hayk (00:39:39):

And impeachment is a tool.

Hayk (00:39:43):

It's a constitutional tool.

Hayk (00:39:45):

It's a mighty tool, if you are able to use it.

Hayk (00:39:50):

So we owe our people, our voters, our brothers during the processes this year, we owe to try it.

Hayk (00:40:03):

Of course, we have a strategy.

Hayk (00:40:06):

Do we have a hundred percent guarantee?

Hayk (00:40:07):

No, we don't even have a 50 percent guarantee.

Hovik (00:40:11):

Right now it's November 18 and the elections are in June.

Hovik (00:40:17):

So we have like seven, a little bit over seven months left until the elections.

Hovik (00:40:23):

What is the timetable for the impeachment?

Hovik (00:40:25):

Because it seems like we're almost into the elections territory and people are

Hovik (00:40:30):

going to be worried more about campaigning for the elections than the street

Hovik (00:40:35):

protests.

Hovik (00:40:36):

Do you have a specific timetable?

Hayk (00:40:38):

Well, the Republican Party hasn't declared that it's participating to the elections.

Hayk (00:40:44):

We haven't even discussed it.

Hayk (00:40:46):

Our major priority is the impeachment process.

Hayk (00:40:51):

There is no...

Hayk (00:40:53):

I will answer the question regarding the timetable, just to give it a broad answer.

Hayk (00:40:58):

There is no time restriction for the impeachment process itself by the law.

Hayk (00:41:05):

Yes, of course, it's a problem that we are short of time.

Hayk (00:41:09):

Yes, we do understand that the most part of the political parties will be involved in

Hayk (00:41:15):

campaigning or preparing campaign during upcoming months.

Hayk (00:41:20):

But impeachment itself is a process.

Hayk (00:41:23):

A process which leads to street protests.

Hayk (00:41:29):

I do think that it's much better to have a process on streets.

Hayk (00:41:36):

And even if it fails,

Hayk (00:41:39):

get into the elections in the atmosphere of the street process,

Hayk (00:41:46):

activism,

Hayk (00:41:47):

readiness to change power in our country.

Hayk (00:41:50):

I don't think that the upcoming elections,

Hayk (00:41:52):

2026 elections,

Hayk (00:41:54):

are regular,

Hayk (00:41:55):

usual elections when each party has to

Hayk (00:41:58):

come in a suit out of his party office in the center of Yerevan and sit in a

Hayk (00:42:05):

minivan and go to campaign in villages of Armenia as nothing has happened.

Hayk (00:42:12):

No, it's not a regular election.

Hayk (00:42:15):

It's a fight.

Hayk (00:42:16):

It's a fight for the future of Armenia.

Hayk (00:42:19):

And I do believe that the world and

Hayk (00:42:23):

Armenians,

Hayk (00:42:24):

citizens of Armenia have to see that Pashinyan,

Hayk (00:42:27):

after all he has done during these years,

Hayk (00:42:31):

he is not just a usual prime minister who is going to the regular election.

Hayk (00:42:36):

No, there has to be an impeachment process against him.

Hayk (00:42:40):

It's the least that we can do against a traitor.

Hayk (00:42:43):

Right.

Hayk (00:42:45):

Even if he doesn't succeed.

Hovik (00:42:47):

Right.

Hovik (00:42:48):

And very quickly,

Hovik (00:42:50):

we want to close,

Hovik (00:42:51):

but you said that the Republican Party has not decided whether they will

Hovik (00:42:56):

participate in the elections.

Hayk (00:42:59):

I haven't even discussed.

Hayk (00:43:02):

Okay. There was no discussion to have the decision.

Hovik (00:43:04):

Can I ask if that, you know, when do you plan on announcing that or discussing that?

Hovik (00:43:09):

Is that... Because most parties are already making announcements.

Hayk (00:43:14):

Yes, of course.

Hayk (00:43:15):

But...

Hayk (00:43:17):

I think that it will be a little bit of a hypocrisy if we would speak about

Hayk (00:43:23):

impeachment,

Hayk (00:43:24):

but we would prepare for elections,

Hayk (00:43:26):

don't you think so?

Hayk (00:43:27):

So impeachment at the moment is the major priority.

Hayk (00:43:31):

We're working on it.

Hayk (00:43:33):

We'll see in the future if we see that the process is saying that we have to decide

Hayk (00:43:42):

regarding the elections.

Hayk (00:43:44):

We will have a discussion and we will make a decision and announce it.

Hayk (00:43:48):

At the moment, we don't even discuss it, to be honest.

Asbed (00:43:50):

Mr.

Asbed (00:43:51):

Mamidjani, on my part,

Asbed (00:43:52):

I want to note,

Asbed (00:43:53):

you said earlier,

Asbed (00:43:55):

very rationally,

Asbed (00:43:56):

that impeachment and the elections are two different tracks and they are not

Asbed (00:44:02):

dependent upon each other.

Asbed (00:44:03):

So there could be an impeachment, there will be elections.

Asbed (00:44:06):

Why not decide whether you are going to participate in the elections,

Asbed (00:44:09):

regardless of the outcome of the impeachment process?

Hayk (00:44:13):

No, no, no.

Hayk (00:44:17):

It's not related with the success or the favor of the impeachment process.

Hayk (00:44:24):

We just don't have the resources for it.

Hayk (00:44:27):

I see.

Hayk (00:44:28):

It's not just a discussion of 18 men discussing a thing.

Hayk (00:44:32):

You have to do the fieldwork for it.

Hayk (00:44:36):

You have to understand the...

Hayk (00:44:37):

You have to write a program, you have to write a campaign.

Hayk (00:44:42):

We just don't want to take resources from the process of impeachment,

Hayk (00:44:47):

from media to the political resources.

Hayk (00:44:50):

I mean, all the pattern of resources and use it for the preparing of the decision for the

Hayk (00:44:55):

elections.

Hayk (00:44:56):

We will get to it.

Hayk (00:44:58):

So it's a matter of resources, not the conflict between the impeachment.

Asbed (00:45:04):

Understood.

Asbed (00:45:05):

Understood. But just we think that time is short, as Hovic said, seven months in civil contract.

Asbed (00:45:11):

We consider all of these arrests that civil contract is doing as part of their

Asbed (00:45:15):

campaign strategy.

Hayk (00:45:17):

Yeah.

Hovik (00:45:19):

Well, I just want to add one last thing from my discussion with Satik Seyranyan earlier today.

Hovik (00:45:25):

She said that there will be a press conference later about the events targeting her

Hovik (00:45:32):

and the union of journalists of Armenia.

Hovik (00:45:35):

So this is an important issue to watch.

Hovik (00:45:37):

And I want to say freedom to all the political prisoners in Armenia and freedom to

Hovik (00:45:42):

the media in Armenia.

Hovik (00:45:43):

And we will do everything in our power.

Hovik (00:45:46):

to achieve that goal.

Asbed (00:45:48):

And we stand by you, Satik.

Hovik (00:45:50):

Yeah.

Hovik (00:45:51):

She's definitely a hero in my book.

Hovik (00:45:53):

Yeah.

Asbed (00:45:53):

Thank you very much.

Asbed (00:45:55):

Okay.

Asbed (00:45:56):

Let's leave it there.

Asbed (00:45:57):

Thank you so much, Mr. Mamijanyan.

Asbed (00:45:59):

We'll talk to you soon.

Hayk (00:46:00):

Thank you.

Asbed (00:46:01):

Anytime you need to get the word out.

Hayk (00:46:03):

Looking forward.

Hayk (00:46:05):

Have a good one.

Hayk (00:46:06):

Thank you. Bye-bye.

Hayk (00:46:07):

Bye-bye. Bye.

Asbed (00:46:10):

Folks, that's our show today.

Asbed (00:46:11):

This episode was recorded on November 18, 2025.

Asbed (00:46:14):

We've been talking with Mr.

Asbed (00:46:17):

Haig Mamijanyan,

Asbed (00:46:18):

who is the leader of the oppositionist Patil Unem Alliance in the Armenian National

Asbed (00:46:23):

Assembly.

Asbed (00:46:24):

He's also a member of the Republican Party of Armenia.

Asbed (00:46:27):

And he is a member or was a member of the parliamentary group representing Armenia

Asbed (00:46:33):

at the PACE, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

Asbed (00:46:37):

Now, for more information about everyone in the show,

Asbed (00:46:40):

go to podcasts.groong.org/episode-number.

Asbed (00:46:44):

Usually we also tell you to support us through our Patreon or Buy Me A Coffee pages at

Asbed (00:46:49):

podcasts.groong.org/donate.

Asbed (00:46:53):

But most importantly today is for you to first be subscribed to our channels,

Asbed (00:46:59):

both here,

Asbed (00:47:00):

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Asbed (00:47:01):

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Asbed (00:47:02):

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Asbed (00:47:05):

And we'd like you to share the shows.

Asbed (00:47:07):

We'd like you to help us get the show in front of other listeners,

Asbed (00:47:11):

people who haven't heard about us,

Asbed (00:47:13):

So subscribe and share our shows.

Asbed (00:47:16):

And secondarily, you can like our videos on YouTube.

Asbed (00:47:20):

You can comment on them.

Asbed (00:47:22):

We read the comments and often we are participating in the comments.

Asbed (00:47:26):

So thank you for your participation.

Asbed (00:47:29):

Thank you for the trust in us for bringing you fact-based news.

Asbed (00:47:35):

Take care.

Asbed (00:47:36):

We'll talk to you soon.

Head Shot

Asbed Bedrossian

Co-host
Head Shot

Hovik Manucharyan

Co-host
Head Shot

Hayk Mamijanyan

Guest

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