YEREVAN, December 8. /TASS/. Opposition activists continue to obstruct main streets and avenues in the Armenian capital, demanding that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan step down. TASS reports that a large traffic jam emerged in Yerevan.
"Armenia without Nikol, Nikol needs to go, Nikol sold our lands," protesters are chanting.
Clashes between supporters and opponents of Pashinyan break out across the city. The police sometimes detain demonstrators.
Protests have also spilled into outskirts of Yerevan and several regions of Armenia, news portals are broadcasting the developments live. In particular, the town of Ararat (60 km away from Yerevan) saw a clash between backers of the current government and their opponents, several activists were detained by law enforcement officers.
Armenia’s seventeen opposition parties, who earlier established the National Salvation Committee, organized a protest near Pashinyan’s government-owned residence on Saturday, putting forward an ultimatum to demand his resignation before December 8. They also adopted a joint statement to nominate former Prime Minister and ex-Defense Minister Vazgen Manukyan as head of government.
The Armenian opposition believes that the trilateral statement on the Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire signed by Pashinyan, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on November 9 essentially came to be an act of capitulation. Opponents of the incumbent Armenian leader also pin responsibility on him for economic and social problems of the country. Amid the turbulent developments in the country, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian called for snap parliamentary elections and for a transfer of power to the government of national accord ahead of the vote.