Only One Armenian Kept in the Museum

In this moment Arthur Khachatryan responds to escalating rhetoric from the ruling Civil Contract party against ARF Dashnaktsutyun, the party he belongs to. He cites Arman Yeghoyan’s call to dry up the roots of Dashnaktsutyun and, as the host notes, to eradicate it. Khachatryan then repeats a line attributed to a Civil Contract figure: that Kristine Vardanyan should be the last ARF MP ever to sit in parliament.

That phrasing, he says, reminded him of a Turkish statement from 1915 that only one Armenian should be kept, in a museum. Drawing that parallel between a governing party’s language about a rival political force and genocide-era rhetoric is deliberately jarring, and it is the emotional core of the clip. Khachatryan says the opposition expects large-scale attacks against Dashnaktsutyun soon, and adds simply: we are ready.

When Hovik asks whether this is merely political speech or real intent, Khachatryan is unequivocal that there is real intent. He notes the ruling party has spoken for a full year about plans to forbid or suspend the ARF in Armenia. He also mocks a newer line of argument in which Civil Contract figures blame their own troubles on having once thought like ARF people, comparing it to blaming a dog for a bite the owner committed. The segment ties into the broader theme of the episode, that Pashinyan needs to neutralize the opposition to deliver on promises made abroad, and that the leadership of opposition blocs is already behind bars. For audiences following the pressure on the Armenian opposition and the diaspora-rooted ARF, this is a pointed, memorable warning delivered with a historical charge.