Hundreds of Gyumri residents marched through Armenia’s second largest town today in opposition to Serzh Sargsyan and to demand the immediate release of jailed protest leader MP Nikol Pashinyan.
In an apparent response to the thousands now gathered in Yerevan’s Republic Square, the government has deployed police units and armored vehicle to Baghramyan Avenue, where the National Assembly and Presidential Palace are located.
At around 3pm today, protesters from nearby towns and villages shut down traffic on the Noyemberyan-Alaverdi roadway, moving on to blocking Bargratashen Border Crossing in around half an hour. For three hours, Chief of Tavush Marz Police, Colonel G. Grigoryan could not convince demonstrators to unblock the border crossing.
Subway riders on their way to the Republic Square rally are in high spirits, singing the praises of protest leader Nikol Pashinyan while others shout "Reject Serzh".
On April 22, Minister of Foreign Affairs Edward Nalbandian and Minister of Justice Davit Harutyunyan met with the heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Armenia.
A manifestation of national solidarity, not seen since the Karabakh Movement rallies of the late 1980s, is unfolding in Yerevan.
We urge the government to show restraint to allow for peaceful protest and we urge those exercising their freedom of assembly to do so responsibly, to avoid violence, and to prevent an escalation of tensions.
Residents of Stepanavan, a town in Armenia’s Lori Province, joined the anti-Serzh Sargsyan protest today.
Minutes ago, men in civilian dress forcibly detained Civil Contract political party member Tigran Avinyan.
Despite the detention, and later, the arrest of Nikol Pashinyan and two other Yelk Alliance MPs, thousands took to the streets of the Armenian capital to voice their opposition to Serzh Sargsyan and his government.
“I call on all our citizens, and our compatriots in the diaspora, to refrain from attempts to intensify the situation and to show restraint,” the statement reads.
It is therefore disappointing and worrying that today’s short meeting between Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan and MP Nikol Pashinyan did not prevent further escalation.
Yerevan, April 22 – Republic Square
Several marchers were injured and hospitalized.
Ayroum residents tell Hetq that they staged a similar protest yesterday as well.
Hovsep Muradyan, who drives the #8 minivan route, joined the protesters on foot after leaving the vehicle parked in the middle of Kievyan Street.
Pachyan is being held at the Kanaker-Zeytoun Police Station.
Arrested protest leader MP Nikol Pashinyan has posted an urgent Facebook appeal, calling on people to take to the streets and to attend an anti-government rally scheduled for 7pm at Yerevan’s Republic Square.
Hmayak says limited mobility and wheelchairs are no impediment to protesting in the streets.
The European Union reiterates that it is crucial that all parties show restraint and responsibility and urgently seek a negotiated solution.
Some 100 protesters, using trash bins, have blocked the Hrachya Kochar-Gulbenkian intersection in Yerevan’s Arabkir District, calling on drivers to turn around.
People are said to have blocked the streets leading to the police station in Yerevan’s Shengavit District, where detained protest leaders Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Sasun Mikayelyan are being kept.
Armenia’s Prosecutor General’s Office (GPO) says that Yelk Alliance MP’s Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Sasun Mikayelyan, who were detained earlier today, have now been placed under arrest.
Demonstrators have closed Garegin Nzhdeh street, nearby Shengavit Police Department, where, according to preliminary information, NA deputies Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Sasun Mikayelyan are held by Police.
Armenia’s Heritage (Zharangutyun) Party has released the following statement on developments in the country
Tens of schoolchildren and young people from Byureghavan, a town in Armenia's Kotayk Province, closed the Byureghavan road and the crossroad with Arzni earlier today.
We, the undersigned civil society organizations in Armenia, would like to bring your attention to the political situation in Armenia that is a clear confrontation between the existing autocratic corrupt regime and the hope for democracy.
At 10:00 am, a protest rally started in Gyumri. Unlike past days, when the protests were mostly organized by the youth, today's protest started with merchants shutting down their kiosks in the market.
Calling the march “illegal”, the Police Department says that protest organizers Ararat Mirzoyan, and Sasun Mikayelyan (both Yelk Alliance faction MPs) were also taken into custody.
The two are said to have discussed matters related to cooperation between the two Armenian states and their concerns about recent political developments in Armenia.
One hour after their meeting earlier today, police confronted a group of protesters at the Erebuni-Artsakh intersection and detained protest leader Nikol Pashinyan.
Today’s meeting at Yerevan’s Mariott Hotel between protest leader Nikol Pashinyan and Serzh Sargsyan, elected as Armenia’s prime minister on April 17, didn’t last long.
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