On Friday, demonstrators led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan clashed with riot police in Yerevan during ongoing protests calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The protests intensified a day after participants tried to encircle the government headquarters. The group then moved to the Armenian Foreign Ministry to request a meeting with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. They demanded explanations regarding what they perceive as inadequate responses to “humiliating” anti-Armenian statements made by Azerbaijan’s leaders.
Archbishop Galstanyan and opposition lawmakers were denied an audience with the top diplomats. Frustrated, Galstanyan confronted the police, demanding entry to the building to “get the answers.” He addressed the crowd, declaring, “Either they will come out or we will go in,” as his supporters and a near comparable number of police officers blocked the ministry’s main entrance.
After a four-hour standoff, security forces, personally led by Aram Hovhannisyan, the chief of the national police, attempted to disperse the crowd. During the confrontation, Galstanyan said he was kicked by one of the officers, and journalists reported that police beat some of the reporters covering the demonstration. Hovhannisyan accused Archbishop Galstanyan of instigating the clash. The protesters, including Galstanyan, pushed back, leading to scuffles with the police, during which people were beaten with clubs. The Armenian Interior Ministry later reported that at least 29 individuals were detained, among them two deacons of the Armenian Apostolic Church, one of whom was seriously injured.
In response to the events, and as a result of the use of brutal and disproportionate force by the police, some citizens fell ill. Galstanyan criticized both the police and FM Mirzoyan for the unrest, asserting, “Let the police know that they can’t intimidate us. This is just a prelude.” He then led the protesters back to St. Anne Church, where the daily protests began.
The 53-year-old cleric, supported by the Armenian opposition, initiated these rallies in Yerevan on May 9, following earlier protests in Tavush province. These were sparked by Pashinyan’s controversial decision to unilaterally cede several border areas to Azerbaijan, which he argues is necessary to prevent Azerbaijani military aggression. Critics, however, argue that these concessions pose additional security risks for Armenia and embolden Azerbaijan to make further territorial demands.
