HAK’s Position Hasn’t Softened, But Hardened, Says Pashinyan

“There will be no change in Nikol Pashinyan’s activities, and there has been no change all this time in prison, or released,” said chief editor of local daily Haykakan Jamanak (“Armenian Times”), opposition activist Nikol Pashinyan himself during a press release in Yerevan today.

On the matter of dialogue between the Armenian National Congress (HAK) and the Sargsyan administration, Pashinyan said he doesn’t wish to discuss Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s steps.

“We have to understand that future developments in the domestic political arena are largely dependent on the authorities’ response to HAK’s proposals. If Serzh Sargsyan makes such a move, [the Armenian National] Congress has the appropriate response to that; if Serzh Sargsyan doesn’t make such a move, HAK has an appropriate response,” he said.

Pashinyan also touched upon the change in mood inside HAK, explaining that HAK’s position over these past years have hardened, become more tough.

“When [the Armenian National] Congress was being created, there was one precondition: the release of political prisoners, after which,  in order to overcome the political crisis, it was ready to move toward dialogue. At that time, there was one precondition, but in 2011, one precondition became three; that is to say, HAK’s position hasn’t softened — it’s hardened. There was a softening in the political arena, but that was a softening of the authorities’ position,” he said.