The Armenian police implicitly threatened to break up ongoing anti-government demonstrations that shut down traffic in much of downtown Yerevan on Monday morning.
Scores of people led by Nikol Pashinian, a prominent opposition figure, marched through the city center, blocking streets and urging more Armenians to join their campaign against former President Serzh Sarkisian’s efforts to hold on to power. Pashinian hoped to thus disrupt an upcoming session of the Armenian parliament which is due to appoint Sarkisian as the country’s next, more powerful prime minister.
The protest, which caused huge traffic jams on streets leading to Yerevan’s central administrative district, began early in the morning and grew visibly larger in the following hours.
The protesters chanted “Take a step, reject Serzh!” as they walked past state and residential buildings, including universities and colleges. They broke into some of those colleges to urge students to boycott classes.
Armenia - Opposition supporters march through a blocked street in Yerevan, 16 April 2018.
The protesters were confronted by a relatively small number of riot police near the national police headquarters. “We are not fighting against you, you are our brothers. We won’t be using physical force against you,” Pashinian told the police officers moments before he and his supporters pushed their way through them.
The crowd broke through another police cordon shortly afterwards.
“The time has come to liberate Armenia citizens,” Pashinian shouted through a megaphone as he continued to lead the march. He repeatedly urged more Armenians to attend daily anti-Sarkisian rallies at Yerevan’s France Square which has been occupied by his supporters since Friday.
Armenia - Opposition supporters block a street in Yerevan, 16 April 2018.
In a statement issued later in the morning, the police condemned Pashinian’s actions, saying that they have “paralyzed traffic” and are illegal. The statement warned that law-enforcement authorities are allowed to forcibly “discontinue” street gatherings accompanied by “collective breaches of public order.”
Neither the Armenian government nor Sarkisian’s Republican Party of Armenia (HHK) reacted to the unrest as of noon.
Sarkisian has made no public statements since completing his second and final presidential term on April 9. The HHK’s governing body formally nominated him for prime minister on Saturday.
Sarkisian promised in 2014 that he “will not aspire” to the post of prime minister if Armenia switches to a parliamentary system of government. Pashinian and other opposition leaders now accuse the ex-president of breaking that pledge.