Desire of Diaspora businesspeople to invest in Armenia may be reduced to minimum, says Samvel Karapetyan
YEREVAN, June 23. /ARKA/. In a short period of time, the Armenian authorities have managed to completely eliminate the presence of the Diaspora in the life of the Republic of Armenia, Samvel Karapetyan, president of Russia-based Tashir Group, said in a statement.
Karapetyan was arrested last week for two months and charged with publicly calling for a “seizure of power.”
"It is absurd that our compatriots from France, the Netherlands, Russia, and other countries are denied entry into Armenia, recognized by the authorities as personas non grata. In a short period, the patriotic desire of Diaspora businesspeople to invest in their homeland and create jobs there could be reduced to a minimum. After all, our Diaspora is not only a huge potential for creating economic and business value in the homeland, but also a powerful lobbying force," the statement said.
According to Karapetyan, sometimes there is an unacceptable impression that the Diaspora is not needed by the Republic of Armenia, and Armenia is not needed by the Diaspora.
"Because of this, our country has lost its largest and most valuable ally for the development of Armenia. Our country has almost lost its most precious and immeasurable capital, our Diaspora, and authorities have successfully reached the point where Armenia has zero investment from the Diaspora. The Diaspora must once again become one of the pillars of Armenia. We will fight," the statement said.
Earlier, Karapetyan visited the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church in connection with the attacks by the Armenian authorities on the top hierarchs of the Church to express his support to the Patriarch.
He noted that the current unacceptable situation would be resolved through the participation of political figures. “If politicians fail, we will participate in our own way,” Karapetyan said.
Shortly afterwards, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote several harsh posts on social media about Karapetyan. A few hours later, Karapetyan was detained by security forces at his mansion in Yerevan. As part of the criminal case, he was charged with “public calls to seize power.”
By court order, he was arrested for two months. Karapetyan's lawyers say that their client does not admit the charges and have filed a motion to appeal the arrest. -0-
