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Protesters demand PM Pashinyan’s resignation amid delimitation with Baku

Protests led by Galstanyan, leader of the Diocese of Tavush at the Armenian Apostolic Church, erupted after news broke that Baku and Yerevan had agreed to delimit the border near the Tavush province

© Stepan Poghosyan/Photolure via AP

YEREVAN, May 27. /TASS/. Anti-government protests led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan were held across Armenia on Monday.

The Armenian police said as many as 226 protesters demanding the country’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation have been detained, including opposition Armenia faction member Ashot Simonyan.

TASS has gathered the key facts surrounding the protests in Armenia.

Root cause behind unrest

Protests led by Galstanyan, leader of the Diocese of Tavush at the Armenian Apostolic Church, erupted after news broke that Baku and Yerevan had agreed to delimit the border near the Tavush province. Yerevan agreed to cede four villages that used to belong to Azerbaijan during Soviet times and have been under Armenia’s control since the 1990s to Baku.

The Tavush for the Homeland movement demanded Pashinyan’s resignation as its activists blamed the unilateral return of lands to Azerbaijan on him, proposing Galstanyan to replace him.

Detentions

According to the latest data from the Armenian Interior Ministry, 226 protesters have been detained. "All the detainees disobeyed the lawful demands of the police," the ministry explained. The opposition said Simonyan, too, had been detained.

Protests are ongoing. The opposition said on Telegram that all roadways across the country have been blocked.

Official response

Against this backdrop, Pashinyan said the Armenian Apostolic Church had historically been "an agent of influence," pledging to resolve the issue "in two to three months’ time." The Armenian PM explained that the border delimitation with Azerbaijan, a process that started with the Tavush province, would guarantee Armenia’s security.

In turn, Artur Hovhannisyan, the secretary of the faction of Armenia's ruling Civil Contract Party, warned that the authorities may seize the Armenian Apostolic Church’s property for state needs.

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