It is people, not opposition or political elites, that are main  obstacle to reproduction of Nikol Pashinyan`s power - expert 

ArmInfo. Yerevan. August 21.ArmInfo, Alexander Avanesov. The main obstacle to  Nikol Pashinyan's restoration of power has long been neither the  opposition nor the political elites, but the people.  Political  scientist Grant Melik-Shahnazaryan wrote about this on his Facebook  page.

"I keep thinking about the arrest of Lidiya Mantashyan. It seems to  me that we have not fully realized the role assigned to Lidiya and  other representatives of the "Sacred Struggle" in the processes that  have already begun in our region and in Armenia. I am afraid that  what I have written will be a bit long, but let's try to analyze  today's realities together. What priority tasks do the authorities  have to solve today? Fulfill the remaining demands of Azerbaijan  (amendment of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, opening of  the corridor, final closure of the Artsakh issue, transfer of  territories to Azerbaijan, resettlement of Azerbaijanis in the  territory of the Republic of Armenia, etc.), support the West in the  fight against Russian influence in our region, up to the withdrawal  of the Russian military base from Armenia, close the Armenian issue,  freeing Turkey from the shackles of strategic importance, re-elect in  the parliamentary elections while retaining power in the country.  These are the problems that Pashinyan's government has not yet  solved. It is in the process, but does not yet have a final result,"  the political scientist noted.

He pointed out two reasons for the above. Firstly, as  Melik-Shahnazaryan believes, it is a matter of time (for example,  there is still almost a year until the parliamentary elections), and  secondly, no matter how Nikol Pashinyan tries to declare the onset of  an era of peace, the people know that he is lying. No matter how much  he insists on overcoming the enmity with Azerbaijan, everyone  understands that this is also a blatant lie.

"The main obstacle on the way of Nikol Pashinyan's government to  solving the above-mentioned problems has long been neither the  opposition nor the political elites, but the people. "Nikol considers  the opposition issue resolved. Most of the opposition is preparing  for elections with a predetermined outcome. What else does the  government need to be happy? The political elites, unfortunately, are  also sterile. And this is where the people become the problem. The  problem is that they no longer believe in Nikol. They reject him. The  culmination of the plan developed in the enemy capitals is the  breakup of these very people. The opposition is neutralized, the  country capitulated, and the people remain. Everything is done so  that the people first cannot resist the implementation of the  above-mentioned actions dictated by the authorities, and then accept  them.  The realities that are formed as a result of this are more  than obvious. The authorities attacked the church precisely in order  to break the will and resistance of the people. The arrest of Lidia  Mantashyan serves the same purpose. During the trial of the 18  righteous, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan said that he had a small hope  that a different decision would be made regarding Lidiya.  No, it  cannot. It cannot for one simple reason: because the enemy knows our  people well. The enemy knows well how compassionate, warm-hearted and  loving our people are. Lidiya is a child of our people. A beloved  child. An honest girl whom the government is trying to break,  torturing and humiliating her, in order to hurt the people, to make  them surrender. The same applies to the other 17 righteous. Look at  the choice the government made: the father of the deceased, a  soldier, an MP, an Artsakh activist, a high-ranking clergyman: This  government is not judging our brothers in the Holy Struggle, but the  people. And we must understand and realize this well," the political  scientist emphasized.

Melik-Shahnazaryan also noted that there is very little time left to  resist these monstrous plans, 11 months at most.

"Whether Nikol will be removed from power earlier, we'll see. I  insist that this issue be resolved the day before. And this is  possible. We just need to fight Nikol's government, not for the sake  of our own power. Until then, the same government will continue to  beat the people, beat them hard," he wrote.

Recall that the day before, the court extended the arrest of Lidiya  Mantashyan, who was arrested in the case of preparing a terrorist  attack and attempting to seize power, by three months. The defense  filed a motion to change the measure of restraint and release  Mantashyan on bail of 2 million drams, but Judge Karen Farkhoyan  rejected this request, granting the motion of the prosecution. The  motion of five married deputies of the National Assembly of the  Republic of Armenia from the opposition faction "Armenia" - Agnessa  Khamoyan, Elinar Vardanyan, Aspram Krpeyan, Lilit Galstyan and  Kristine Vardanyan - did not help either. According to the court, if  at liberty, Mantashyan may obstruct the investigation, commit crimes  or go on the run. Eighteen people are involved in this criminal case,  including the leader of the protest movement "Sacred Struggle",  Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan.