2024 Armenian protests

The 2024 Armenian protests, most commonly known in Armenia as Tavush for the Homeland (Armenian: Տավուշը հանուն Հայրենիքի, romanized: Tavushy hanun Hayrenik’i), are a series of street demonstrations taking place throughout Armenia due to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan leading an effort to demarcate the Armenia–Azerbaijan border, reaching an agreement with the Government of Azerbaijan which handed over four abandoned villages along the border to Azerbaijan: Bağanis Ayrum, Aşağı Əskipara, Xeyrimli, and Qızılhacılı.^[26]

Events

Spontaneous protests

In Yerevan, spontaneous protests led by the opposition occurred on 24 and 25 April. Opposition leaders claimed that police employed aggressive methods against protesters in the city on 24 April. In other parts of the country, demonstrations resulted in temporary closures of national and regional highways, such as the Yerevan-Meghri highway, the Yerevan-Gyumri highway, the Baghanis-Voskepar highway, and the interstate highway connecting Armenia to Georgia.^[27]

On 26 April 2024, protestors continued to block streets in Yerevan and main highways outside the city to oppose the territorial concessions depicted by Nikol Pashinyan's administration as the beginning of Armenia's border delineation with Azerbaijan. Some employed large vehicles for this objective. Law enforcement authorities intervened to reopen traffic on almost all of those routes.^[28]

The parliamentary opposition group Armenia Alliance called for a motion of no confidence on Pashinyan. However, the opposition lacks enough representation to put forward a motion as Civil Contract maintains a supermajority within parliament.^[8]

On 7 May 2024, Pashinyan criticized the involvement of religious figures in politics and stated "The government should not interfere in the affairs of the church. The Armenian Apostolic Church has its own rules of activity, its own regulations. But in general it is obvious that today the Catholicos of All Armenians is leading a political movement in Armenia.^[29]

Galstanyan-led protests

On 9 May, protests spread as Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan called on Prime Minister Pashinyan to resign within the hour, receiving no response from the government.^[21]

On 10 May, Galstanyan called for university students to boycott class and join his protests, with some doing so, and saying that if it was "God's will" for him to become prime minister "who am I to say no?"^[30] Galstanyan later confirmed, however, that he holds not only Armenian but also Canadian citizenship. The constitution of Armenia bars dual citizens from serving as prime minister.^[8] Galstanyan also told protesters they should "engage in peaceful acts of disobedience," if Pashinyan did not listen to their demands.^[31]

On 10 May, at least 48 protesters where arrested by the police for violating Article 182 of the Armenian Code of Administrative Offenses.^[a][20] All 48 were allowed to be released on bail, should they afford it.^[20] Also on 10 May, Galstanyan met with Serzh Sargsyan's I Have Honor Alliance and Robert Kocharyan's Armenia Alliance representatives for consultations.^[33]

On 11 May,

On 13 May, at least 171 protesters were arrested by police in Yerevan. Galstanyan urged supporters to "paralyze" the capital. Protestors blocked roads and briefly disrupted traffic before being removed by police. 156 of the protestors were released from police custody by late afternoon.[24] That same day, Galstanyan stated that there would be no more rallies held at Republic Square but encouraged protestors to carry out acts of civil disobedience elsewhere in the city.^[35]

According to the Union of Informed Citizens, the largest crowd of protestors contained around 31,700 people on 9 May. A second rally the next day attracted only 11,700 people. The crowd was even smaller two days later. It was speculated that Kocharyan helped fund and paid protestors to attend the rallies in Yerevan.^[36] On 14 May, the Jamestown Foundation noted that the protests failed to gain momentum.^[33]

Opposition to the protests

Artur Hovannisian, a Civil Contract lawmaker claimed that "the ongoing antigovernment protests are coordinated by the Armenian Apostolic Church and former Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan." He said they are trying to "stage a coup by undemocratic means." Meanwhile, during a session of the National Assembly on 30 April, Civil Contract deputies branded Galstanyan a Russian spy.^[8]

On 7 May 2024, Ani Khachatryan, a member of the Hanrapetutyun Party emphasized the connection between the participants of the march, the leading clergyman, and Russia. Khachatryan stated, "The participants of the movement, the clergy, do not even hide their connection with Russia" and "history shows that the clergy were the biggest Russian agents." Khachatryan also stated, "Archbishop Bagrat is the clergyman of Robert Kocharyan's personal use."^[37]

On 10 May 2024, Civil Contract secretary Artur Hovhannisyan stated, "A process is being generated to carry out a coup in Armenia in an undemocratic way. The church is fully engaged in this." Hovhannisyan claimed that Robert Kocharyan is behind all this, and he is trying to serve, according to him, "the interests of the empire", in this case Russia.^[38]

On 12 May 2024,

On 13 May 2024, Armenian foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan stated, "By undermining the Alma-Ata declaration and the peace process based on it, these people [the protestors] continue, I can't say for sure whether consciously or unwittingly, they continue to undermine the sovereignty, statehood, and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. In the best interpretation, without realizing it, in the worst interpretation, at the direct dictation of another country [alluding to Russia]."^[39]

Reactions

•  
  Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on 8 May.^[40] These Russian forces were then redeployed to Yerevan.^[40]
•  Kazakhstan: From 9 to 11 May, Kazakhstan hosted Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and his Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, for a series of negotiations toward a comprehensive peace deal,^[41] during which Mirzoyan announced that Armenia would be open to a transportation route for Azerbaijan to reach the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and by extension, Turkey.^[41] However, the negotiations ended with no conclusion as both sides insisted that there were "differences" on key provisions.^[41]

See also

• 2020–2021 Armenian protests– Similar protests following Pashinyan's signing of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement
• 2021 Armenian political crisis– A foiled military-coup against Pashinyan
• 2022 Armenian protests- Similar protests about the ceasefire agreement
• 2023 Armenian protests– Similar protests following Pashinyan and Russia's refusal to intervene in the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh

Notes

References