Following the failed attempt to convene a special parliamentary session on June 3 to approve a resolution rejecting any peace accord that would restore Azerbaijan’s control over Nagorno-Karabakh, anti-government protesters marched to the Government Building in Yerevan and blockaded the main entrance.

Opposition leader and National Assembly Vice Speaker, in a Facebook post, scorned ruling Civil Contract MPs for boycotting the session and avoiding a debate on the bill. 

“This is their face. I know why they do not come. They are afraid. They have fled. But that does not change anything. The document developed by the opposition factions, the agenda of our people, will soon become the basis of Armenia’s state policy," Saghatelyan wrote.

Saghatelyan accused Civil Contract MPs of being stooges for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and incapable of making independent decisions.

The protesters then marched to the National Assembly but faced a police cordon surrounding the building.

Demonstrators tried to break through, and scuffles broke out.

The Ministry of Health reported that forty-two people, including twenty-two police officers, showed up at various medical centers for treatment.

The Police Department issued a statement claiming that protesters threw stones, bottles and metallic objects at police officers and that eleven individuals were detained in the melee.

Saghatelyan accused police of following the orders of Pashinyan, describing the prime minister as a “madman” who cannot tolerate peaceful public disobedience.

“He instructed the police to provoke the protesters because the people today proved there is no parliament, no government, no authority in the country. The power rests in this square with the people,” Saghatelyan declared in France Square where protesters had regrouped.

He announced that a rally will be held on Saturday evening.