Multitudes of people were detained following demonstrations in Armenia.
In the country of Armenia, situated in the South Caucasus, there have been countrywide rallies against the authorities. These protesters are calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. They've shut down roads in numerous locations, as per a German Press Agency reporter's on-the-ground report.
As per police accounts, over 200 individuals have currently been detained. The cause for these protests stems from the tensions with nearby Azerbaijan. The protesters blame Pashinyan for ceding Armenian land as part of a peace agreement.
The rallies are spearheaded by Bagrat Galstanian, who is the Archbishop of Tavush, and has lately emerged as a vocal critic of Pashinyan. Galstanian encouraged the shutdowns on Monday and also actively participated in them. The Archbishop personally blocked a vital intersection in the heart of the capital Yerevan using his Lexus.
People's fury is directed at Pashinyan, as he oversaw the country's loss in a long-standing struggle over the place called Nagorno-Karabakh last year. This mostly Armenian-inhabited area split from Azerbaijan in the 1990s, enduring a violent civil war to do so with the aid of Yerevan.
This year, oil-rich and heavily armed Azerbaijan partially regained command of the region during a brief war. In September 2023, Azerbaijan reclaimed complete dominance over Nagorno-Karabakh, which prompted the escape of close to 120,000 ethnically Armenian inhabitants.
Besides, there are ongoing border disagreements between the two states. Azerbaijan, which is backed by Turkey in the conflict, is asserting additional territorial demands on its weaker neighbors. To seal a peace treaty, Pashinyan had recently suggested making concessions regarding boundaries and had even relinquished control of four border settlements. This pursues strong opposition within his own nation.
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In addition to the over 200 arrests made during the protests, hundreds more individuals have expressed their discontent with the situation in peaceful demonstrations. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh has been a significant contributing factor to these protests, with many Armenians blaming Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for concessions made in peace agreements. Furthermore, tensions continue to escalate between the two countries, leading to calls for a stronger stance against Azerbaijan's territorial demands, backed by Turkey.
Source: www.ntv.de
