03 May 2022, 17:28
Armenian opposition calls on its supporters to paralyze all the country's traffic
In Yerevan, protesters held a march demanding the resignation of the Armenian government headed by Nikol Pashinyan. They called on supporters to paralyze on May 3 the traffic throughout the country.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on May 2, activists blocked more than a dozen streets in Yerevan, after which they had clashes with law enforcers that resulted in detentions. According to the police, 244 people were detained. The oppositionists reproached the law enforcers for unjustified aggression.
On April 13, Nikol Pashinyan, the Prime Minister, admitted a "lowering the bar" on the status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which caused outrage in Armenia and resulted in protests.
Supporters of the opposition are staying in France Square in Yerevan, where more than two dozen tents have been set up. Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, the second and third presidents of Armenia, respectively, came to the square to support the protesters.
The organizers of the protest movement have stated that the actions will not stop until Pashinyan resigns. They announced disobedience actions to be held in the regions.
Any violence against peaceful demonstrators will be punished, said Ishkhan Sagatelyan, the vice speaker of the Armenian parliament, an MP from the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun". He has noted that on May 2, law enforcers exceeded their official powers during detentions, and called on foreign countries' ambassadors and international organizations to react to the violence.
In Yerevan, law enforcers are acting too harshly, human rights defenders have pointed out. Nina Karapetyants, the head of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, has noted that during the dispersal of protesters, law enforcers were in balaclavas.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on May 2, 2022 at 09:25 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Tigran Petrosyan Source: CK correspondent
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