The FINANCIAL — YEREVAN. The Armenian capital is bracing for a day of fresh protests on April 23 after tens of thousands of antigovernment demonstrators defied a police warning the previous evening and gathered on Yerevan’s central Republic Square following the detention of protest leader Nikol Pashinian.
Protesters at the rally on April 22 agreed to start “decentralized” marches and rallies, consisting of smaller groups in different parts of the city as well as peaceful civil disobedience actions, including blocking streets and traffic.
A new, large gathering is to held at 7 p.m. in Republic Square. The protesters have vowed to repeat their demonstration every day until Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian and his government resign.
Opposition lawmaker Pashinian was detained during a demonstration in central Yerevan after failed talks with Sarkisian, who walked out after the protest leader said the only thing to discuss was his resignation.
Two other lawmakers were detained along with more than 230 demonstrators on the 10th day of mass rallies against Sarkisian’s shift to the newly powerful prime minister’s post, which put him back at the country’s helm less than two weeks after his 10-year stint as president ended.
Pashinian was confronted by masked police officers and other security personnel as he led a crowd of several hundred supporters marching to the city’s southern Erebuni district. The police fired stun grenades to stop the march.
Police later tried to disperse crowds gathered in various parts of Yerevan and there were clashes between officers and some protesters.
Police said they detained 232 protesters by late afternoon on April 22, according to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.
The Health Ministry said seven people were taken to hospital for problems related to the demonstrations.
More protesters were detained later in the day as they gathered on Republic Square.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that it took the decision to “disperse demonstrators,” adding that police were “entitled to carry out arrests and use force.”
The Prosecutor-General’s Office earlier said that Pashinian and the two other detained opposition lawmakers, Sasun Mikaelian and Ararat Mirzoian, would be held for 72 hours.
It said in a statement that the three had organized unsanctioned rallies and urged supporters to unblock streets and entrances to state buildings. It claimed that participants of those gatherings assaulted police officers.
The statement did not say whether there would be criminal charges against the three lawmakers, who are protected by parliamentary immunity. Their prosecution would require parliament to remove their parliamentary immunity.
The meeting between Sarkisian and Pashinian ended quickly, with the prime minister accusing his opponents of “blackmail” and walking out after about three minutes.
“I came here to discuss your resignation,” Pashinian, in a camouflage T-shirt and an Adidas cap, told Sarkisian after taking off his backpack and sitting in a chair next to the prime minister on a podium as cameras rolled.
“This is not a dialogue, this is blackmail,” Sarkisian said before walking out of the meeting room where members of the media were present. The meeting lasted only three minutes, reporters said.
Following Sarkisian’s statement, protesters called on housewives in the capital to join in the protest by banging their pots and pans for five minutes at 11 p.m. to show Sarkisian that the opposition has more than “only”7-8 percent” support.
In many districts of Yerevan, banging could be heard after 11 p.m. In one district — Shengavit — the banging lasted for half an hour.
Pashinian’s whereabouts remain unknown. His wife, Anna Hakobian said late on April 22 that she had been told her husband was being held in Sevan, some 55 kilometers northeast of Yerevan.
Rustam Badasian, a lawyer for Pashinian later said that Sevan police chief Vigen Aghekian confirmed Pashinian had been there for a while, but was then transferred. He said he could not provide further information.
Serzh Sarkisian was elected prime minister by parliament on April 17, eight days after his 10-year stint as president ended two weeks ago. Under constitutional changes that Sarkisian pushed through in 2015, the prime minister is now more powerful than the president, who is more of a figurehead.
He stepped down as president when Armen Sarkisian — his handpicked successor — was sworn in on April 9 after being elected by parliament.
Sarkisian had previously said he would not seek to become prime minster, and protesters say he violated that pledge. Oponents say the shift threatens to make Sarkisian, 63, the leader of the South Caucasus country for life.
Critics say Sarkisian also has brought Armenia too close to Moscow and President Vladimir Putin, with whom he has a close relationship.
Putin also switched between the positions of president and prime minister to remain in power, becoming head of government in 2008 when he faced a limit of two straight terms, and then returning to the presidency in 2012.
Another regional leader, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, also changed positions, becoming head of state after years as prime minister. Erdogan also beefed up the powers of the presidency to tighten his grip on power.
In a statement on April 22, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia urged police and protesters to “avoid violence” and to “prevent an escalation of tensions.”
“We are concerned over reports of violence against journalists and demonstrators; we emphasize the need for those responsible for violence against police or demonstrators to be held accountable under the law,” it also said.
Meanwhile, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini’s spokesperson said the EU expects the Armenian authorities to “fully respect this right and to apply the law in a fair and proportionate manner.”
“All those who have been detained while exercising their fundamental right of assembly in accordance with the law must be released immediately,” Maja Kocijancic added.
She also urged all parties involved to “show restraint and act responsibly,” adding that an “inclusive dialogue” aimed at a peaceful resolution of the current situation was “essential.”
On April 21, President Armen Sarkisian visited protesters on Republic Square and spoke with Pashinian as protests mounted against Serzh Sarkisian’s election as prime minister. The two Sarkisians are not related.
Pashinian said he told the president that he would only negotiate with the government “the terms of Serzh Sarkisian’s resignation and a peaceful transition of power.”
Protesters also rallied in Armenia’s second-largest city, Gyumri and in Vanadzor, the third-largest city in the country of about 3 million people. Several protesters were detained in Vanadzor on April 21.
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