The opposition of the Caucasian republic of Armenia accuses the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan of seeking to give the neighboring Nagorno-Karabakh region to Azerbaijan. The government intervened harshly.
250 people have been arrested in the Armenian capital, Yerevan, following recent protests against Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. The demonstrations were attended by more than 20,000 people, according to the German news agency dpa. Police intervened very harshly against the demonstrators, including MPs, said, showing the state of the national media, the deputy chairman of Parliament, former Channel Sagateljan, who is part of the opposition. The detainees are accused of resisting state violence.
On Sunday (01.05), the opposition set up a tent camp in the central square in front of the Yerevan Opera and Ballet. The camp will be demolished when Pashinjan has resigned. Demonstrators had also blocked many streets in the capital.
Demonstrations against the government have been going on for days in the very poor former Soviet republic. The opposition accuses Pashinyan of seeking to hand over to Azerbaijan the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, where the majority of the population is Armenian.
In March, the prime minister told parliament that the international community had appealed to Armenia to “reduce demands on Nagorno-Karabakh”.
Opposition leader Sagatelyan speaks of “betrayal” and stresses that “the political status of Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan” is unacceptable.
Thousands killed in the fall of 2020
The Caucasian republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan, whose population is predominantly Muslim, have been in conflict for decades over control of Nagorno-Karabakh. In the fall of 2020, the two countries began the war that cost the lives of more than 6,500 people. The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement. A large part of the territories previously controlled by Yerevan came under the control of the government in Baku. This caused a serious political crisis in Armenia. Pashinyan managed to win the new elections last summer. But many Armenians continue to feel overwhelmed by the handing over of territories to Azerbaijan.
Russia mediates in the conflict
Armenia seeks to reach, through international mediation, including from Russia, a peace agreement with the hostile neighboring country. The ceasefire between Azerbaijanis and Armenians is guarded by Russian soldiers stationed in the Nagorn region. However after t/DW