‘We Are Recreating Armenia;” Erebuni Gunmen Speak to Reporters After Releasing Hostages

A conscious rebellion always achieves its desired results, Varuzhan Avetisyan, one of the leaders of the “Daredevils of Sasun” armed group, told a news conference today. The gunmen, who have been occupying a Yerevan police station since July 17, released the four remaining hostages after authorities agreed to their demand on setting up a “media center” near the seized building where the members of the groups would be able to communicate with journalists whenever they wanted to.

“As we can see, our struggle is yielding results. This atmosphere should be expanded throughout Armenia. We need to communicate with our hearts, people should come together, and soon after we will have what we’ve being dreaming about,” Avetisyan said.

Gunman Arayik Khandoyan, for his part, stressed that “we are happy, and we are not going to lay down arms. We are not crestfallen.”

A regular emotional outbreak, Varuzhan Avetisyan went on, never does any good, but a well-thought-out conscious plan “usually brings about favorable outcomes.”

Following are some of the reporters’ questions along with their corresponding answers;

– What are your security guarantees?

– Our people, first of all, and only then our weapons.

– Aren’t you afraid that the police will continue to…

– We are not afraid; we’ve thought out a defense strategy. We are in constant combat readiness.

– You keep saying that people should come together outside, but you continue to insist that they should not have a leader…

– I’m not saying they should not have leaders. What I’m saying is that there should not be individuals who try to change the course of the movement to serve their personal and partisan interests. Of course there should be a coordinating body, there should be supervision. Otherwise, the process will never be successful…

– Who do you see as a leader?

– Not parties. It should be an individual with a clean biography […] because we’re creating a new state: we are recreating the Republic of Armenia. All these years, we’ve failed to create a state, this is a quasi-state.

Avetisyan reaffirmed that the main demand of the group was the resignation of Serzh Sargsyan, “followed by a transitional period of purification, laying the foundations for a new system, and only after that – elections.”