Ashot Manucharyan: Responsibility for Sasna Tsrer's actions lies on entire spineless Armenian political elite

The responsibility for the Sasna Tsrer group's actions lies on the entire spineless Armenian political elite, member of the Karabakh Committee, the first Armenian president's national security advisor Ashot Manucharyan has told ArmInfo. 

"In this light, no one has the right to condemn the people who try to defend themselves the country, Manucharyan says, qualifying the Sasna Tsrer members as victims, tools of a global game, flavored by domestic games.

In such a situation, he says, it is the politicians that should have prevented such developments. So, the crime has been committed not by the people who have seized the Patrol-

Guard Service building, but by the informed politicians, who failed to carry out their direct functions.   
To recall, on July 17, Artsakh war hero Zhirayr Sefilyan's armed supporters, who are calling themselves "Sasna Tsrer" (The Daredevils of Sasun), seized the building of the Patrol-Guard Service Regiment in Erebuni district of Yerevan. They demand releasing Sefilyan, who was arrested on June 20 on suspicion of acquisition and keeping of weapons and ammunition. The armed group is still holding police as hostages. Deputy Head of the Patrol- Guard Service Regiment, Colonel Artur Vanoyan was killed in the incident. Armenian MP Nikol Pashinyan says that during his visit to the Erebuni Police Department building he saw 26 members of the "Sasna Tsrer" group.    

The access routes to the building are still blocked and the police are on combat duty. Dozens of people spent the night in the territory adjacent to the building to support Sasna Tsrer. On July 19 evening, protests developed into clashes between the residents of Sari Tagh district and the law enforcers. 4 policemen were hospitalized with injuries.
On June 20, 2016, Zhirayr Sefilyan was detained on suspicion of organizing a criminal group. 8 persons face charges of acquisition and keeping of weapons and ammunition. 6 have been arrested and 1 is wanted.  According to the Special Investigative Service of Armenia, Sefilyan and his supporters were planning to seize buildings of state importance in early April. Two-month arrest has been chosen as a measure of restraint against Sefilyan, however, his supporters think the case is a frame-up and the arrest is political persecution for his political views, activities and statements about the territorial losses the Armenian side suffered during the April war.