YEREVAN, ARMENIA- Multiple reports and videos circulating on social media on Friday showed Armenian police shooting what appeared to be tear gas launchers and stun grenades on demonstrators.
Mass protests demanding Pashinyan’s resignation have been going on for over a month in Yerevan and other parts of the nation. The protests started over Pashinyan’s government’s apparent willingness to “lower the bar” on the status of Artsakh and potentially agree to the Armenian region being handed over to Azerbaijani authority. This and the government’s eagerness to “normalize” relations with Turkey and open its borders while sacrificing Armenian demands stemming from the Armenian Genocide have led to ongoing protests against what appear to be an increasingly pro-Turkish and pro-Azerbaijani tilt in Armenia’s foreign policy.
On Friday, the opposition had called for a special hearing in Armenia’s parliament to pass a resolution guaranteeing that Armenia’s government would not agree to hand control over Artsakh to Azerbaijan. The pro-Pashinyan majority in parliament boycotted the hearings, which led to increasing outrage by protestors demanding Pashinyan’s resignation.
