Homeland Salvation Movement reopens central Yerevan street for traffic
YEREVAN, March 23. /ARKA/. The Homeland Salvation Movement, created by a loose alliance of more than a dozen Armenian opposition parties demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, said in a statement today it was reopening the central Baghramyan Avenue for traffic and making a tent camp set up outside the parliament building its headquarters to step up public pressure on the government and coordinate their further actions.
“For a long time, the Homeland Salvation Movement has been fighting the authorities, which have brought our country to catastrophe, through actions of civil disobedience, rallies, as well as other legal and political means,' the Movement said in the statement.
According to it, the Movement has managed to shape broad public consensus demanding the removal of the person who is clinging to the prime minister's chair. 'The regime, albeit slowly, is succumbing to massive public pressure,' it said.
"It is already obvious to all social and political forces that the development of Armenia is impossible without resolving the current crisis; moreover, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country are under threat. At the same time, it is obvious that the continuous blockade of the street is creating inconveniences for citizens, which is not the goal of the Movement. Based on the above, the Movement decided to reopen the street and start a new wave of political actions, expanding the geography of actions by involving residents of the regions,' the statement said.
It also urged citizens to gather March 28 at the intersection of Baghramyan and Demirchyan streets for a nationwide rally.
Nikol Pashinyan has been facing opposition demands to resign since he signed a peace deal in November with Azerbaijani and Russian leaders to end the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh that claimed thousands of young lives, and saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over large parts of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas that had been held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter of a century.
Pashinyan has rejected the opposition demands and announced snap parliamentary elections on June 20. -0-
