Draft Letter to Armenian Legal Scholars / Armenian Bar Association

Subject: Request for Legal Action Regarding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan
Dear Esteemed Scholars and Members of the Armenian Bar Association,

I am writing to you out of deep concern for the Republic of Armenia, the Armenian nation, and the future of our people. The actions of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan raise urgent legal, constitutional, and moral questions that, in my view, demand immediate examination by the legal community and possible accountability before the law.

When Pashinyan came to power, he did so by presenting himself as the leader of a movement against corruption, promising honesty, justice, and democracy. Yet, the record of his governance reveals a very different reality.

• He held multiple undisclosed meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, without informing the Armenian people or even members of his own government.
• He presided over the so-called 44-day war of 2020, which ended in a sudden capitulation on November 9. This decision was made without consultation with Armenia’s foreign minister, parliament, or the Armenian public.
• After this, vast portions of Artsakh were surrendered without referendum, parliamentary debate, or national consensus.
• Hundreds of Armenian villages were likewise handed over, again without public mandate.
• The so-called “Zangezur Corridor” was conceded under the same secretive circumstances, with no referendum or constitutional process.
• Most recently, instead of welcoming recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Israel and other nations, Pashinyan publicly undermined the matter, suggesting it was irrelevant to the interests of Armenia, and framing it as mere “geopolitical bargaining.” This statement effectively minimizes and denies one of the most painful truths of Armenian history.

Taken together, these actions raise serious issues of abuse of power, violation of constitutional duty, and betrayal of national sovereignty. They appear to bypass democratic processes and ignore the fundamental rights of the Armenian people to be consulted on existential issues of territory, security, and historical justice.

For these reasons, I respectfully urge Armenian legal scholars, jurists, and diaspora legal associations to consider avenues of accountability — whether through constitutional challenges, international legal instruments, or diaspora-led legal action.

History has shown us that silence enables injustice. Today, it is vital that the Armenian nation’s legal institutions rise to their duty: to protect the Republic, to uphold the Constitution, and to ensure that no leader can unilaterally dismantle the rights and dignity of the Armenian people.

With respect and urgency,

Wally Sarkeesian