Opposition MP rejects ‘big lies’ about protest movement in Armenia

Opposition MP Artur Khachatryan has debunked two “big lies” about the protest movement in Armenia spread by the government members and supporters.

“The first lie is that the movement gets funding from abroad. The chief prosecutor and the deputy chair of the Investigative Committee have rejected these allegations, while the security agencies remain silent on it,” Khachatryan said, addressing the parliament on Tuesday.

The MP, who represents the opposition Hayastan faction, insisted on foreign funding for the 2018 revolution in Armenia, citing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s statements on 27 July.

In addition, Khachatryan called out his pro-government colleagues for false claims of paying people to attend protests in Yerevan. The MP pointed to the latest incident in which the conversation between two Artsakh Armenians about shoes was wrongfully portrayed as a dialogue on payment for joining protests.