Activist: Pashinyan's regime heavily relies on police for survival
Activist and politician Avetik Chalabyan, co-founder of the Hayakve initiative, called out Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s administration for the “brazen” demands put forward by Azerbaijan, including the change of Armenia’s constitution.
Speaking at a protest on Baghramyan Avenue in central Yerevan on Monday, he claimed that Pashinyan and his government had lost their legitimacy to rule, heavily relying on police in an effort to cling on to power.
“Police forces are the ruling regime’s last hope for survival,” the activist told Panorama.am, referring to Sunday’s incident in which riot police stopped peaceful protesters from getting close to the Armenian parliament building from Bagramian Avenue.
“The extension of its rule is playing havoc with the country. The ruling regime is to blame for the brazen demands made by Azerbaijan’s dictator every single day," Chalabyan said.
He claimed a change of government in Armenia was a matter of days.
At a rally in Yerevan’s Republic Square on Sunday, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan announced the start of four days of nonstop street protests to drive Pashinyan from office.
He urged the National Assembly to convene a special session on the government's resignation and the formation of a new government on Tuesday.
The protesters led by the cleric marched to the Armenian parliament late on Sunday. Many of them spent the night on Baghramyan Avenue near the parliament building, setting up tents there.
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