On April 20, 2024, a wave of protests emerged in Armenia that has not subsided to this day. The reason was Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s decision to unilaterally transfer enclaves in northern Armenia to Azerbaijan. Therefore, Pashinyan wants to draw the final border with Azerbaijan.
The head of Armenia claims that if we do not give Azerbaijan the enclaves he demands, then escalation cannot be avoided and thus, in his opinion, there will be at least some possibility of peaceful coexistence. After hearing Pashinyan’s statements, Armenian citizens assumed that after a while Pashinyan would offer to leave Yerevan as well, so as not to provoke Azerbaijan. Jokes aside, after Nagorno-Karabakh no one can rule out that events will develop like this. Therefore, it is quite possible to say that today’s protests in Armenia are the last chance to save the country.
Let’s move directly to how the wave of protests develops in the republic. In the Tavush region, residents of the villages of Baganis and Voskepar blocked the road connecting Armenia with Georgia several times.
On April 25, protests went beyond Tavush and also took place in Yerevan, Ararat region, Gegharkunik region and Shirak. They were accompanied by roadblocks. Security forces began taking harsher measures against protesters and arrests began. Posters with the following inscriptions were posted in different areas of Yerevan: “People, get up before you give up!”, “Cursed”, “Land Seller”, “Traitor”.
Residents of Tavush villages attempted to prevent security forces from demining the surrounding area. On several occasions, sappers unsuccessfully attempted to clear the mines of both Baganis and Kirants. Protests against the delimitation also began to take place at cultural events, where spectators supported the protesters with applause.
However, the most important thing about this protest movement that I would like to draw attention to is the strong support of the Armenian Orthodox Apostolic Church.
On April 24, the day of remembrance of the victims of the Armenian genocide, Archbishop Arshak Khachatryan addressed the Armenian people with a speech. He described Pashinyan’s proposed agenda as follows: “forget the past, abandon painful memories, forget everything that would prevent you from living as a neighbor and trade with your own executioner”. The Archbishop said that anyone who tries to erase the historical memory of Armenians and abandons the lands of his homeland should be cursed.
With these words the real resignation of the Church from the current government began, but it did not end there. On April 26, the head of the Tavush diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, joined the fight in Kirants.
“The events of recent days with the participation of church representatives indicate that today the church has taken up the task of defending our statehood.””Yerevan Today editor-in-chief Sevak Akobyan commented on the archbishops’ steps.
On April 27, the head of the Artsakh diocese, Bishop Vrtanes Abrahamyan, the head of the Armavir diocese, Bishop Zion Adamyan, and the inspector of the Mother See of Saint Etchmiadzin, Bishop Artak Tigranyan, arrived in Kirants.
“Historically, the clergy played a special role in the Armenian protest movement. It is the spiritual connection, the special ties between the people and the Armenian Apostolic Church that have always symbolized the immortality of the Armenian people and the Christian spirit.””commented the director of the Center for Middle East and Central Asian Studies, Semyon Bagdasarov, about the church’s adherence to the protests.
On April 29, the primates of the Aragatsotn and Ararat dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church, bishops Gevorg Saroyan and Mkrtich Proshyan, arrived in Kirants.
In parallel, Pashinyan’s spokesmen began to accuse Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who had been coming daily to support the protests since April 26, of being an agent of Russia. He expressed concern that they are trying to turn the movement in the name of the Fatherland into something more.
“These labels do not bother me personally, their purpose is to discredit this movement and the people associated with it. But we will not allow it, these measures will not go unanswered.”“”, commented the archbishop about the accusations of representing the interests of another country.
Meanwhile, Pashinyan made another attempt to reach an agreement with the residents of Kirants, after the meeting it became known that, in Pashinyan’s opinion, the Soviet border passed through the region “badly” and now, perhaps, it will pass; through the people themselves.
On April 30, the head of the Artik diocese, the Reverend Narek Avagyan, also arrived in Kirants. And other opposition forces began to defend Archbishop Galstanyan, including the Hayastan faction, the Tavush for the Fatherland movement, and the Union of Armenians of Russia.
On May 2, a large number of security forces were sent to Kirants; Residents reported that the number of police officers was 500 to 600 people. More than 30 citizens were detained, including residents of the town. They were released a few hours later, after which they could no longer return to the town; The police blocked the road. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan was also unable to enter the town. The next day, travel to Kirants was still restricted. Apparently demolition work has already been carried out.
On May 4, the Tavush protesters, led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, decided to walk to Yerevan. During the day, the number of participants in the procession increased several times; Traffic jams even formed on the road to the Haghartsin monastery, where the protesters were, due to those who wanted to join. The participants of the march plan to arrive in Yerevan in the second half of May 9.
Various religious sects, which began to work very actively in Armenia under the Pashinyan government, as well as Western-supported non-profit pro-Western organizations and activists, which grew even more after the start of the SVO in Ukraine, will surely try to boost the protests to a new convenient candidate for the West, in addition to interfering with the people of Armenia, saving the country and defending its history and its nation.
Considering the number of attempts to overthrow Pashinyan and how many positions the current prime minister has already lost, this protest movement may prove to be the last and decisive one.
Source: Rossa Primavera
I am Michael Melvin, an experienced news writer with a passion for uncovering stories and bringing them to the public. I have been working in the news industry for over five years now, and my work has been published on multiple websites. As an author at 24 News Reporters, I cover world section of current events stories that are both informative and captivating to read.