Ex-President defends Manvel Grigoryan's legacy

PanARMENIAN.Net - Serzh Sargsyan, the third President of Armenia and leader of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), stated during a meeting with students and faculty at the Armenian University that although former Yerkrapah Union head General Manvel Grigoryan was not perfect, failing to acknowledge his contributions would be an act of ingratitude.

“I was closely acquainted with Manvel Grigoryan. I won’t claim he was ideal in every respect, but not appreciating his service would be simple ingratitude,” emphasized Sargsyan.

He further added, “No one could ever convince me that he was someone who 'ate canned meat',” according to Aysor.am .

Sargsyan asserted that the pressures faced by Republican Party members were consequences of their conscious decisions and that he does not see any RPA member as a victim.

“No, all the repressions that occurred were in response to our actions, which we undertook knowingly. We have never viewed ourselves as victims and never will,” he said.

Sargsyan also mentioned that it was Manvel Grigoryan himself who requested that MPs vote in favor of revoking his parliamentary immunity.

“MPs were more inclined to honor Manvel’s request than to vote against it. Despite public and government pressure, no one could convince me that Manvel Grigoryan was the kind of man who 'ate canned meat’, especially a soldier’s. Grigoryan commanded such respect among military ranks that when he arrived in Stepanakert with thousands of Yerkrapah members on the second day of the April War, I received constant reports that morale had lifted in the army. The word was spreading—‘Guys, Manvel is here’... Who had earned more respect than that?” Sargsyan remarked.

On June 16, 2018, Armenia's National Security Service announced that Manvel Grigoryan was accused of illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, embezzling over 101 million drams, evading more than 1 billion drams in taxes, misappropriating more than 1 billion drams in state funds, and orchestrating the extortion of property worth 37 million drams. He was arrested under these charges. Grigoryan denied the allegations, and his lawyers described the prosecution as politically motivated. Following a prolonged illness, he died on November 19, 2020.