YEREVAN (Azatutyun.am)—Protesters led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan poured into Yerevan’s central Republic Square on Thursday to try to surround the seat of Armenia’s government during a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
They besieged the government building located there as part of Galstanyan’s opposition-backed bid to oust Pashinyan, which was triggered by the government’s controversial territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
The protesters blocked with their cars the streets leading to the sprawling square before occupying it. Despite making a number of arrests and impounding some of those cars, riot police failed to restore traffic through the square.
The crowd stayed there for the next five hours. It did not fully surround the building heavily guarded by security forces, with government members seemingly managing to leave from a back entrance.
Pashinyan did not comment on the demonstration during the weekly cabinet session that focused on government efforts to eliminate consequences of Sunday’s severe floods in Armenia’s northern Lori and Tavush provinces. Pashinyan and his allies have dismissed the demands for his resignation, defending the handover of several disputed border areas to Azerbaijan.
Galstanyan repeatedly branded the premier a “liar and coward” during the protest which he said marked “the most miserable day in his life.”
“He has turned this building into a prison,” the outspoken archbishop told reporters. “Look at these lines of police.”
Galstanyan resumed his daily protests in the capital on Sunday. He enjoys the backing of the vast majority of Armenian opposition groups.
It emerged on Thursday that Galstanyan met the previous night with Gagik Tsarukyan, a wealthy businessman leading the opposition Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK). It was a further sign that Tsarukian approves of the protest movement despite not officially joining or endorsing it.
A spokeswoman for Tsarukyan said that the meeting focused on the tycoon’s assistance to flood victims requested by Galstanyan. The latter echoed the claim while acknowledging that they discussed political developments as well. He would not say whether the BHK leader supports his movement.
Tsarukyan’s party had the second largest group in Armenia’s former parliament but failed to win any seats in the current National Assembly elected in 2021. The tycoon was indicted and briefly arrested on corruption charges in 2020 after openly challenging Pashinyan. Last November, the Armenian authorities moved to confiscate hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets belonging to Tsaruktan, saying that they were acquired illegally.
