Armenian police detain tens of opposition activists
YEREVAN, February 23. /ARKA/. Armenian riot police have detained today more than 50 opposition activists who among other supporters of the Homeland Salvation Movement gathered outside a government building to resume their demand that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government step down.
Long before the start of the protest, the police had cordoned off a large area around the building, which Pashinyan was scheduled to visit today morning, obstructing the movement of citizens and journalists. Snipers were seen stationed on the roof of the government building.
After Pashinyan entered the building amid the protesters' shouts, the police continued to cordon off the building.
Edgar Janoyan, deputy head of the public relations department of the police, told Novosti-Armenia news agency that 57 people have been detained under article 182 of the Code of Administrative Offenses (failure to comply with the legal requirement of a police officer).
A senior member of the ARF/ Dashnaktsutyun party Gegham Manukyan told reporters that violence was used against the representative of the ARF/ Dashnaktsutyun Supreme Body Ishkhan Saghatelyan, who was asked to see a doctor, but he refused.
"In the past months, there have been many reports to law enforcement agencies about concrete police officers with names and photographs who used disproportionate violence against opposition activists," he said. Manukyan said that sooner or later these police officers will be brought to justice.
An alliance of more than a dozen Armenian opposition parties resumed Monday street protests in a new bid to force Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to resign.
The opposition claims that as long as Pashinyan is in power there will be no stability, peace and calm in the country. The opposition alliance also blames Pashinyan for Armenia’s defeat in the six-week war in Nagorno-Karabakh.
On December 25, 2020, Nikol Pashinyan said he was ready to step down to pave way for snap elections. But the opposition forces, however, demand that he resign and give his position to an interim prime minister who must prepare the country for early elections.
According to Pashinyan, "the opposition's demand that he resign does not have broad public support."
Earlier this month, Nikol Pashinyan and lawmakers representing his My Step alliance reiterated officially that there was no popular “demand” for the conduct of snap elections. They also said that such elections were rejected by Prosperous Armenia and Bright Armenia opposition parties represented in the Armenian parliament. -0-
