More than 200 protesters have been detained on Monday in the Armenian capital of Yerevan during mass protests sparked by recent remarks by the country’s prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, about the longstanding Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The weekend saw thousands of opposition supporters gather in central Yerevan as part of a campaign to oust Pashinyan. As a reason for discontent, they cite the prime minister’s recent statements which they believe show a willingness to compromise on the Karabakh issue, up to even giving the disputed territory away to Azerbaijan. Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bloody war over control of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, which has seen periodic flare-ups ever since, the most recent being this past March.
“As of 14:00, 244 citizens who did not comply with the lawful demands of the police were taken to different police stations,” a police spokesperson told the Tass news agency.
On Monday morning, according to local media, the groups of activists participating in what was called a “civil disobedience” campaign started blocking dozens of streets in the center of Yerevan, prompting the police to use force to restore order.