A heated conversation between Pashinyan and Papazyan
On Wednesday, February 21, on the occasion of the reburial of Misak Manushyan and his wife in the French pantheon, taking advantage of the fact that Nikol Pashinyan was in France, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron initiated the contact between Nikol Pashinyan and the co-chairs of CCAF (Coordinating Council of French Armenian Organizations), Murad Papazyan and Ara Toranyan. : The conversation took place in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, at the end of the dinner organized at the Elysée Palace.
President Macron opened the conversation by clarifying the need for contacts between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the representatives of the Armenian community in France, even if differences can separate them. President Macron highly appreciated the work done by Murad Papazyan and Ara Toranyan for Armenia. He emphasized their determination to protect Armenia and their ability to unite the Armenian community in France, the French government and all political actors.
After the words of the French President, Murad Papazyan welcomed this initiative. Addressing Nikol Pashinyan, the CCAF co-chairman condemned the fact that he was banned from entering Armenia for 19 months, which was finally lifted by the Armenian justice system. Murad Papazyan criticized Nikol Pashinyan for making this deeply undemocratic and divisive decision.
Murad Papazyan emphasized the disagreements that Nikol Pashinyan might have with him, while insisting on his right to express them publicly within the framework of a free and democratic debate. Nikol Pashinyan, clearly irritated by this lesson in democracy, got angry and criticized Murad Papazyan for discussing this topic in front of the French president.
Murad Papazyan reminded that the French president is the author of that initiative and that, probably, the French president is the only person who could organize this dialogue.
Even more enraged by that answer, Nikol Pashinyan said that he banned Murad Papazyan from entering Armenia because the latter organized a demonstration against him in Paris on June 1, 2021. This baseless claim has been spread many times by the office of the Prime Minister of Armenia and has always been denied by Murad Papazyan. However, during that conversation, Nikol Pashinyan repeated this accusation, and Murad Papazyan once again rejected it, at the same time being surprised that the security services of Armenia did not present this accusation to the court.
Murad Papazyan also clarified that the right to demonstration is not prohibited in a democratic country. He expressed surprise at Nikol Pashinyan’s weak argument and the poverty of his expressions.
At the end of the conversation, President Macron stood aside with the Prime Minister of Armenia, after which Pashinyan informed Murad Papazyan that the authorities will not appeal the decision to restore his right to return to Armenia.
ARF Paris office