Vanetsyan: “We have no right to take actions that will cause the protest movement to fade”

Chairman of the Homeland Party Artur Vanetsyan said that many people expect the opposition to take moves that would quickly end the protest movement.

"What would we get if we grab the government or National Assembly buildings, for example? It will only allow police to jail the movement's leaders and a large number of protestors, thereby putting an end to the campaign. We have no legal authority to enable this to happen," he replied. "We're not fearful, we're not procrastinating, we're not backing down; we simply recognise that we have to do all we can to make this process operate well," he added, adding that the movement has a clear strategy that they are following. According to him, the situation in the nation has changed because of the opposition campaign, and there is wide popular consensus on the necessity to depose the existing administration. Vanetsyan said the cabinet established following Nikol Pashinyan's likely resignation and the possible contender for the prime minister's office should be made up of roughly 250 specialists to pull the country out of its current condition. "In his address, Ishkhan Saghatelyan stated that a former public official who became wealthy as a result of his position and has no popular support cannot be prime minister. Talking about who will be prime minister is just another trap laid by the government right now," he remarked. "We have said that there are no leaders in our movement. We will follow this rationale since it is a countrywide movement. It's only a question of time; we'll discuss everything in the next days. I can only tell that the opposition camp in France Square now has a substantial human resource base, and we can propose at least three to four candidates for each position," Vanetsyan continued.

Armenian authorities using law enforcement as a bludgeon to suppress the protest campaign, according to an opposition MP

On 12 May, opposition MP Tigran Abrahamian of the With Honour group accused the incumbent Armenian government of deploying law enforcement agencies to suppress the opposition's protest movement.

"The competent authorities are in no hurry to take action against the police officers who throw bottles at people, blatantly violate journalists' professional activities, spit on a detainee, and, in general, subject those participating in peaceful acts of civil disobedience to inhuman treatment," he wrote on Facebook.

With more than weekly opposition rallies seeking Nikol Pashinyan's resignation, Abrahamian criticised law enforcement for provocations and conflicts. "The authorities are using law enforcement agencies as a club to put an end to people's struggles at any costs and to maintain their authority," the MP stated.

The Armenian ombudsman's office called on ongoing anti-government protests to ensure that protests are peaceful

The Armenian ombudsman's office has called on the organisers of the ongoing anti-government protests and the law enforcement bodies to ensure that the protests are peaceful.

"It is very important that the public figures leading the political actions clearly condemn violence and cooperate with the law enforcement agencies to ensure the normal course of the peaceful assemblies," read the statement issued by the Human Rights Defender's Office. It said that leading opposition figures had not condemned the 8 May incident in the city of Gyumri where a group of elderly people were attacked by protesters.

The statement came after the ombudsman's representatives visited four police stations in Yerevan on 10 May where 64 detained protesters were held. 

The statement called on police officers to refrain from using excessive force against protesters during detentions. It said detainees had complained that police officers used chokeholds and insulted them. There were cases when police officers tried to obstruct journalists from covering the protests, the statement said.

The Resistance movement comprising major opposition alliances Armenia and I Have the Honour has been staging protests since early May, demanding Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan resign. The opposition accuses the prime minister of planning to make concessions to Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh and reconciliation with Turkey.

Armenian opposition besieged Yerevan City Hall

Several thousand members of the protest movement gathered at the Yerevan City Hall, chanting "Armenia without Nikol." Activists blocked all entrances to the capital's municipality and paralysed traffic on Grigor Lusavorich Street adjacent to the city government, reported on May 11. Reinforced police squads were sent to demonstrators’ locations.

“We have no desire to seize the building, break into the mayor's office. Our only desire is for the employees (of the capital's municipality) to join our movement,” said Artsvik Minasyan, an MP from the opposition Armenia faction. “The most important thing for us is the non-use of violence, this is a matter of principle. On the contrary, our actions lead to reconciliation, to our unity, so that we can face the challenges that threaten us,” he said, adding that opposition deputies are in front of the demonstrators in order to avoid clashes with the police.

Armenian opposition jamming authorities with signals

Several motor rallies are taking place in Yerevan at once with the slogans of the "resistance movement" initiated by the parliamentary opposition.

The start of the “automobile marches” was May 11th, from the Yerevan-Gyumri, Yerevan-Sevan highways, from the car market in the metropolitan area of ​​Erebuni and the international airport “Zvartnots.” Convoys of opposition supports are moving with Armenian and separatist Nagorno-Karabakh flags towards the small centre of Yerevan.

All recent actions of civil disobedience by political opponents of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan were mainly expressed in processions of citizens in several columns and parallel attempts to block traffic on the transport arteries of the capital. Each time, law enforcement managed to quickly restore traffic and took dozens of activists to the police station.

Armenian opposition appealed to foreign ambassadors and made promise to civil servants

Parliamentary opposition members are preparing for further movement blockades as a continuation of their call for Prime Minister Pashinyan to step down. 

Pashinyan's political opponents will hold their next rally in France Square in the centre of the capital not in the evening hours, as usual, but during the day. This was stated by one of the leaders of the "resistance movement," the vice-speaker of the parliament from the opposition faction Armenia Ishkhan Saghatelyan. “Tomorrow we start the rally at 16.00. Important things are waiting for us,” Saghatelyan said. According to him, before that, starting from 12.00, motor rallies with the flags of separatist Nagorno-Karabakh will be held in Yerevan. Saghatelyan addressed diplomats in Yerevan, stating that Pashinyan "can no longer represent the Armenian people and the Republic of Armenia." He asked diplomats to bring this position to the leadership of their countries. The politician also urged civil servants not to be afraid of layoffs for participating in protests, promising that those laid off would be reinstated in their jobs.