Mass protests against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan have shaken Yerevan.
Massive protests calling for the resignation of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan have stretched into a second day following a demonstration over the weekend.
After a demonstration with thousands of people on Sunday and a night vigil in torrential rain, hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the Armenian parliament in Yerevan on Monday.
The demonstrations were called to protest last month’s decision to hand over four deserted border villages to Baku to resolve decades-old territorial disputes between the Caucasian neighbors. The territory, seized by Armenia in the 1990s, was returned last week.
The protests against Pashinyan, who also led Armenia to cool relations with Russia, are led by Bagrat Galstanyan, an archbishop who called over the weekend for a “new dialogue” with Moscow.
Streets and squares
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Azerbaijan recaptured last year from Armenian separatists who controlled the enclave for three decades.
Opponents considered the return of the territory a betrayal. Pashinyan said it was a necessary step to prevent further war.
On Sunday, Galstanyan, who has said he hopes to replace the prime minister, announced the start of four days of rallies to remove him from office.
“For four days we will remain in the streets and squares and, with our determination and will, we will achieve victory,” said Galstanyan, who called on parliament to hold an impeachment vote on Tuesday.
Thousands of people gathered in front of the government headquarters on Sunday before marching to parliament.
If the impeachment vote is carried out successfully, it will be necessary to install an interim government and hold early parliamentary elections.
However, the effort seems unlikely to succeed, as opposition lawmakers do not have enough seats to carry it out.
Still, Galstanyan temporarily renounced his religious duties to run for prime minister. However, he is not eligible to hold office under Armenian law because he holds a Canadian passport.
Richard Giragosian, director of the Center for Regional Studies in Yerevan, told the Reuters news agency that Galstanyan’s action was motivated by desperation as the number of protests dwindled.
Giragosian said the archbishop’s campaign was affected by a lack of political experience and the absence of a clear strategy.
The protests, so far, “do not represent any real challenge to the government. The only danger of escalation is a possible overreaction by security forces,” Giragosian added.
Armenia’s relations with Russia have cooled, as Yerevan feels that Moscow has failed to support it in its confrontation with Azerbaijan.
Relations suffered another blow on Monday when Russia attacked Pashinyan’s government’s response to the invasion of Ukraine.
After Armenian officials visited the Ukrainian city of Bucha, Russia sent a note of protest to Yerevan.
The visit to Bucha was a “frankly hostile step,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote in Telegram on Sunday evening.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
