October 2018 protests in Armenia

On 2 October 2018, protest demonstrations demanding the dissolution of the National Assembly of Armenia were held in the capital city of Yerevan and at other locations in Armenia.[12] The protests were a response to a vote by the National Assembly to block Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan from disbanding the legislature and holding an election.[13] In the evening, the prime minister's supporters gathered at Marshal Baghramyan Avenue, Baghramyan and Karen Demirchyan streets and blockaded the National Assembly building.[14] After endorsement by Pashinyan, protest rallies were also launched at Vanadzor[12] and Gyumri.[15]

Protests in Armenia (2018)
Protesters on 2 October 2018
Date1 October 2018 - 2 October 2018
Location
Armenia: Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor, Abovyan, Sevan, Gavar, Artashat, Armavir, Ashtarak, Vagharshapat, Kapan, Stepanavan, Spitak, Dilijan
Armenian diaspora: Glendale, California,[1] Moscow,[2] Marseille,[3] Toronto, Montreal, Sochi, Vancouver,[4] Athens, London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Sao Paulo[5]
MethodsDemonstrations, sit-ins, student protest, civil disobedience, online activism, boycotts of business, general strike
Parties

Political opposition

Extra-parliamentary parties

Armenian government

Non-political groups

  • brigade of military peacekeepers

Ruling Government[8][9][10]

Initial Supporters
Lead figures
Number

Yerevan: 150,000 Gyumri: 10,000

Vanadzor: 5000
50
Casualties and losses
none
none

Background

A draft law, Amending the National Assembly Rules of Procedure, drawn up jointly by RPA faction members Arpine Hovhannisyan, Vahram Baghdasaryan and Andranik Harutyunyan, was submitted for consideration by the National Assembly on 2 October 2018.[16] That evening, the National Assembly convened an extraordinary session and adopted the draft law, according to which a National Assembly session would be considered interrupted if external forces prevented the session from taking place.

Rally on Baghramyan Street

At the rally to demand the dissolution of the assembly, Nikol Pashinyan signed a decree dismissing ministers representing the Prosperous Armenia and ARF-D parties from their posts. By mutual consent, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan of the RPA decided to continue to remain in office.[17] Nikol Pashinyan also announced that the leaders of the two parties would be dismissed from their posts at the next session of government.[18][19] At the same time, ARF Dashnaktsutyun announced the withdrawal of its ministers from the government.[20] Nikol Pashinyan stated that once the dismissal of PAP and ARF-D members had come into force, he would resign from his post.[21]

See also

References
  1. "Thousands of SoCal Armenians protest election results in their homeland". KABC-TV. 23 April 2018.
  2. "В Москве у армянской церкви прошла акция в поддержку протестов в Ереване. Митингующих задержали". meduza (in Russian). 22 April 2018.
  3. Ghukasyan, Seda (18 April 2018). "Yerevan: "Reject Serzh" Rally Kicks-Off in Republic Square; March To Baghramyan Avenue". Hetq. He claimed that protesters had removed a photo of Serzh Sargsyan hanging in the Armenian Consulate in Marseille and publicly burnt it.
  4. International, Radio Canada (23 April 2018). "Canada 'applauds' courage of Armenian protesters". rcinet.ca.
  5. International (20 April 2018). "Yerevan's 'Velvet Revolution' Rally: Pashinyan Calls Sargsyan a "Political Corpse"". rcinet.ca.
  6. "Huge Crowds Keep up Pressure on Armenian PM".
  7. "Armenian Police Statement: Those Detaining Citizens in Civilian Dress Are Police Officers". Hetq. 20 April 2018.
  8. "Pashinyan to Negotiate with Authorities 'on Behalf of People' (Live Thread)". epress.am. 21 April 2018. Samvel Aleksanyan, a local oligarch close to Serzh Sargsyan, is personally fighting demonstrators in Malatia district. In a video published on Facebook, Aleksanyan is seen kicking a protester who is then forcibly put into a car.
  9. Atanesian, Grigor (16 April 2018). "Thousands of protesters shut down Armenia's capital, dozens injured in clashes". eurasianet.
  10. "Nikol Pashinyan Called on Oligarchs Not to Involve Their Bodyguards". lragir.am. 16 April 2018.
  11. "PanARMENIAN.Net - Mobile". panarmenian.net. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
  12. "There is also a rally in Vanadzor (photos)".
  13. "Nikol Pashinyan came to Baghramyan. Citizens also gathered at the National Assembly (right)". news.am. 20 October 2018.
  14. "MPs can not get out of parliament building". tert.am. 2 October 2018.
  15. number of Gyumri residents rallied every second in seconds
  16. "An explicit project in the National Assembly". 168.am. 2 October 2018.
  17. ԲՀԿ-ն ներկայացնող Մհեր Գրիգորյանը որոշել է մնալ Փաշինյանի կառավարությունում [PAP representative Mher Grigoryan decided to remain in Pashinyan's government]. factor.am (in Armenian). 2 October 2018.
  18. ՀՅԴ-ից ու ԲՀԿ-ից նախարարներն ու մարզպետներն աշխատանքից ազատված են [Ministers and governors from ARF-D and PAP are dismissed]. Aysor.am (in Armenian). 2018-10-02.
  19. "Ministers and governors representing Prosperous Armenia and ARFD will be dismissed". hetq.am. 2 October 2018.
  20. ՀՅԴ-ն կառավարությունից հետ է կանչում իր նախարարներին [ARF dismisses its ministers from government]. Yerkirmedia.am (in Armenian). 2018-10-02.
  21. "ՀՀ վարչապետը հայտնեց հրաժարական տալու մտադրության մասին" [Armenian Prime Minister announces his resignation]. Artsakh Press (in Armenian). 2018-10-02.
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