Onik Gasparyan, the Former Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces, issued a statement calling on the military to support Robert Kocharyan, the Second President of Armenia, and leader of the Hayastan Dashinq in the upcoming parliamentary elections, reports News.am.

Gasparyan accused the current government of obsessive desire to retain the reins of government at any cost, as well as the fact that it takes “the dirtiest and immoral” steps on this path.

Gasparyan’s full statement runs as follows,

“My comrades-in-arms, the obsession with maintaining power at any cost forces the current regime to take the most dirty and immoral steps, discrediting people who oppose their anti-national activities.

I have the impression that during the war the person playing the role of the Prime Minister and his teammates had the status of an observer in the RA Government. In any situation, they look for sinners by presenting themselves as innocent angels.

It is an undeniable fact that a leader who avoids responsibility is the greatest threat to the state. I have stated many times that I do not shy away from responsibility and I am ready to support the work of the commission investigating the results of the war, but the representatives of the government continue to manipulate the topic of the war in order to gain political points.

Of course, they have no rivals in discrediting the people, but I suggest sobering up and not trying to put all the blame on the military command with baseless statements. At any cost, they try to purify themselves by appointing culprits and closing this tragic page of history, to continue enjoying the benefits of power.

The shed blood of our fallen comrades-in-arms has deprived us of our moral right to self-defense, but we should not go too far.

An objective examination will show the degree of guilt of all of us. As for my political views, I have dedicated my life to the defense of the homeland since I was 18 years old and I have spared nothing in the fight against the enemy. I have never been involved in politics and, in fact, it did not matter to me who represented the government.

However, the anti-national activities of the current authorities forced me to fight against them in order to stop the process of state collapse. I think that Armenia and Artsakh can get out of this severe post-crisis crisis only thanks to the work of a government staffed with professional and patriotic officials, which should be led by an experienced politician.

“I am convinced that in this situation we must support the second president of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and all the healthy forces that are fighting against the current authorities.”