Armenian opposition starts protest march in Yerevan

YEREVAN, April 25. /ARKA/. The Armenian opposition began another street protest action today in a fresh bid to topple Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government. A group of opposition supporters began marching from the Holy Cross Church in the Arabkir district of Yerevan towards the town center.

"We are starting a street struggle and will go all the way to the end to overthrow this government,» deputy speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Ishkhan Saghatelyan from the opposition Hayastan alliance, said before the start of the march.

According to him, marches have started also in different regions of Armenia, whose participants are expected to reach Yerevan in several days. The opposition's goal is to hold protests across Armenia for five days and then organize a big rally on May 1.

"Time is short, we need to overthrow this 'government of evil ' as soon as possible," Saghatelyan said, arguing that the issue of Armenian and Artsakh statehood is at stake.

Representatives of the youth wing of the ARF/ Dashnaktsutyun, opposition MPs, public figures and bloggers have joined the procession.

Earlier today, a group of protesters set out from the town of Ijevan, 140 km away from the capital Yerevan. They plan to reach the capital in five days. Two MPs from Hayastan alliance - Gegham Nazaryan and Aspram Krpeyan- are taking part in this march.

Today the protesters temporarily blocked the intersection of Komitas Avenue and Vagarshyan Street in Yerevan.

The protesters also held alert actions in front of Yerevan State University and Armenian State University of Economics, urging students to join the protests. -0-