Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan rejects proposal to become PM candidate
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan of the Tavush Diocese, who is leading protests against the Armenian government’s unilateral territorial concessions to Azerbaijan, has rejected a diplomat’s proposal to become a prime ministerial candidate.
The senior cleric demanded Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation as he rallied tens of thousands of people in Yerevan’s Republic Square on Thursday.
The archbishop called for peaceful acts of disobedience in and around Yerevan and a parliamentary vote of no confidence in Pashinyan after the latter ignored the demand.
Protesters led by Galstanyan marched to universities in Yerevan on Friday, urging students to boycott classes and join the protest movement. Many students of Yerevan State University joined the march.
“I have no such aspirations,” the cleric told reporters at the march, responding to former Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian’s proposal for him to be nominated as the candidate of the Tavush for the Homeland movement for prime minister.
“The process will show who will be the candidate for prime minister. Everything is in God's hands," he added.
Another rally is scheduled to be held in Republic Square on Friday evening.
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