Today, some members of the brigade aiming to “dismantle” the kiosks recently installed at Mashtots Park, attempted to cross the barricades set up by police.

They were immediately set upon and tossed out. You can watch what transpired in the accompanying video.

Here’s what some of the brigade members had to say after racheting up the pressure on local Yerevan authorities to take down these commercial stalls.

Manvel Sargsyan – How can the city call in the police to defend this stolen land, to set up barricades? When we state something, it is done openly. We have nothing to hide. But I believe the cops are in a bind. They say one thing and do something else. They told us that crossing the barricades is illegal. So we crossed them and look what happened. No arrests. It seems to be a show on their part.

Andreas Ghoukasyan – We have seen today that citizens of Armenia who fight for their rights are untouchable. We wanted to prove this fact to our fellow citizens – that those who defend the law aren’t punished. This is yet more proof that all this is illegal, and if it continues a huge movement will coalesce. The movement will not only be directed at these barricades but at the system itself. The same system that cannot defend the rule of law and that obliges our respected police to defend such illegallities. The system has found itself it a shameful position for all of society to see.

Saro Saroyan – We have no beef with the cops. The police say the young activists don’t treat them with respect. The police should ask themselves why this is so. The answer is because the police do not enjoy the trust of the people, because the police do not defend the law. If the public sees that you are actually defending the rule of law, then your trust rating would shoot up dramatically. The police captain said that if we crossed the barricades, we’d be arrested. We crossed over and weren’t arrested. You can’t even execute your own directives. I understand the attitude of the young people here. If up till now, the level of trust was worth this penny in my hand, now it isn’t even worth that.

Tigran Khzmalyan – The real cream of society is here – it’s these youth and concerned citizens. We lawyers, artists and professionals are taking measures strictly within the confines of the law. You say that we are performing a show here, but it is you who are performing the real show by bringing out 300 cops against 10 or 20 activists. I want to warn you about the possible future scenario to come. We are trying to defend the interests of the state here today. But the cops aren’t defending kiosks but those interests who are taking our country down the road to ruin. Look who is on our side and those who are backing you. Again, we are trying to operate within the confines of the law, in an orderly fashion. But there are others out there who won’t be so orderly and law abiding as us. If things continue as they are, the government should watch out. Look what has happened during the Arab spring. The Mubarak’s and Gaddafi’s were dealt with and tossed aside. The same can happen here if our issues aren’t dealt with properly and justly.