The outspoken Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and his supporters continue their march to Armenia’s capital, Yerevan, from the Kirants border village in northern Tavush province. This village has become the epicenter of the two-week-long protests against the Armenian government’s unilateral territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
The “Tavush for the Homeland” movement, led by Archbishop Galstanyan, began its journey on Saturday. This non-partisan, people-led movement vehemently opposes the government’s unilateral territorial concessions to Azerbaijan during the ongoing border delimitation and demarcation processes, particularly concerning the handover of four border villages in Tavush Province.
Upon starting the 160-kilometer trek to the capital, Archbishop Galstanyan emphasized, “We are taking our campaign to the streets of Yerevan to scuttle the handover of border areas adjacent to Kirants and nearby Tavush communities.” Many local residents, citing grave security concerns, have been up in arms against it. The decision to march was announced just two days after a severe police response to Kirants protesters who had attempted to prevent officials from clearing the land for handover. The police presence has remained heightened around the village since the crackdown.
Hundreds of people, followed by a long procession of slowly moving cars, continued their march to Yerevan on Monday, with Archbishop Galstanyan insisting that their campaign is gaining momentum. He spoke of “unexpectedly great” popular support for the movement that began following the announcement of the territorial concessions on April 19.
Archbishop Galstanyan and the protesters, including at least two opposition parliamentarians, spent their first night at the medieval Haghartsin Monastery in Tavush. Following a Sunday mass, they resumed their march, galvanizing support with the archbishop’s rallying cry, “This march is going to give us one thing: honor and homeland.” He called on Armenia’s leaders to “behave well,” “repent,” and “avoid all kinds of sins.”
Despite facing harsh criticism and personal attacks from Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s political allies, who have labeled him a Russian agent and accused him of provoking conflict with Azerbaijan, Galstanyan remains resolute. Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan, dismissing the protesters’ potential to challenge the government, stated, “I don’t even understand what kind of a process this is because I don’t know if we are a theocracy and what we are doing now.” Narek Babayan, an MP from Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party, claimed, “This is a process aimed at leading Armenia to war and turning Armenia into a remote province of Russia. Therefore, I don’t think that Armenia’s citizens will support it.” Arousyak Julhakyan, another Civil Contract MP, commented dismissively, “I don’t take it seriously because there is no seriousness whatsoever in these processes.”
The opposition has denounced these accusations as part of a smear campaign by Pashinyan. The Etchmiadzin-based Mother See of the Armenian Apostolic Church has also expressed solidarity with Galstanyan, denouncing the planned territorial concessions.
Pashinyan’s allies have even called on Armenian border guards to forcibly draft the 52-year-old archbishop, who serves as the Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Scheduled to arrive in Yerevan on May 9, the protesters plan to announce their subsequent actions upon reaching the capital. Galstanyan declined to shed light on the planned actions in Yerevan or whether demands would include Pashinyan’s resignation. “The whole essence of our movement is spiritual,” he stated, adding, “In our country, the truth must defeat the lies. That’s enough. As for the cost and the price of that, we’ll see.”
Galstanyan countered that Pashinyan and his political team are “scared” of the movement led by him. He also claimed that some senior members of the ruling party are “already sending us confidential messages as to how they could join in.”
The Prime Minister has defended the unilateral concessions as necessary measures to prevent Azerbaijani military threats. However, the opposition contends that such actions only embolden Baku to escalate demands and potentially use force.
The Archbishop also emphasized that he harbors no political ambitions. Support for the movement has swelled with statements from Yerevan-based opposition politicians and public figures who have vowed to join the efforts to preserve Armenia’s territorial integrity.
