Protesters in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday, hours after he denounced calls for a “coup” after Azerbaijan launched a military operation in the Karabakh region occupied by Armenia.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered on Yerevan’s Republic Square, in front of N. Pashinyan’s office, condemning his behavior in the face of the Karabakh crisis. An AFP journalist present on the scene reported that the demonstrators were chanting: “Nicolas the traitor!” and demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister.
Pashinyan, who has been protesting in Armenia since 2020 after the loss of Yerevan in the war against Azerbaijan, has previously warned against calls for a coup.
N. Pashinyan’s office was surrounded by police and some demonstrators tried to break in.
The opposition accuses N. Pashinyan of a weak position with regard to Karabakh. “It is not possible to have a leader who loses our territories,” one demonstrator told AFP. “We want to show that the Armenian people will not abandon the people of Artsakh,” he said, using the Armenian name Karabakh.
Another protester also expressed frustration with how authorities are responding to the standoff with Azerbaijan. He said that N. Pashinyan had been promising peace for three years, but the third war had already started. “If the government fails to protect 120,000 compatriots, they are traitors and must resign,” he said, citing the population of the breakaway region.
Several hundred people responded to the call from opposition parties to take to the streets because of N. Pashinyan’s policy in Karabakh.
Source: The Delfi
