In an interview with Hetq, Seyran Ohanyan, a former Armenian Defense Minister who now leads the opposition Hayastan (Armenia) parliamentary faction, said that the opposition will continue to publicly criticize Nikol Pashinyan and his government for Armenia’s defeat in last year’s war.

Ohanyan, who served as Defense Minister from 2008-2016, said he’s never shied away from criticism when appropriate and that he initiated serious reforms within the military. He cited the introduction of the lottery system to select where new recruits would serve.

He claimed to have fired 135 colonels and higher-ranking officials during his tenure as Defense Minister, of which half were on corruption charges.  

Ohanyan said he will probably not be included in a parliamentary fact-finding committee on the 2020 war in Artsakh, but that he would advise members of the opposition that are.