Archbishop, opposition MPs denied entry into Armenian border village
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, as well as opposition MPs on Thursday were barred from entering the border village of Kirants in Armenia’s Tavush Province as police officers closed the main highway leading to the village from the Tavush capital Ijevan.
Only local residents were allowed to enter the village, the epicenter of protests against the unilateral territorial concessions to Azerbaijan announced by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government on April 19.
Early on Thursday morning, police officers detained over 30 protesters blocking the Armenia-Georgia interstate highway near Kirants to allow relevant authorities to conduct demining in the border area.
“You are obstructing my right, as the spiritual leader of Tavush, to meet my people, whom you brutally cracked down on in the morning,” Fr. Bagrat said, addressing the police.
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