• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Wednesday, March 29, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Democracy at Risk

Police Arrest Dozens of Opposition Protesters in Armenia

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
04/20/18
in Democracy at Risk, Featured
Serzh Sargsyan

President Serzh Sargsyan has been in power in Armenia since 2008, winning a second term in 2013. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Armenian police arrested dozens of people on Friday as hundreds of opposition supporters staged sit-ins and attempted to block road traffic in the capital city to protest ex-president Serzh Sargsyan‘s election as prime minister.

Many of the demonstrators waved national flags and held up placards reading “Sargsyan is a dictator.” Some attempted to block roads in response to repeated calls by the leader of the protests, opposition MP Nikol Pashinyan to paralyse traffic. Police said dozens of people were detained.

Since last Friday, opposition supporters have held rallies to denounce Sargsyan’s efforts to remain in power as prime minister after a decade serving as president.

Opposition parties have criticised the 63-year-old leader over poverty, corruption and the influence of powerful oligarchs in the country of 2.9 million people.

Back in 2008 when Sargsyan was first elected, protests lasted for 10 days before a state of emergency was imposed. These protests are more calm, but could be sustained for longer.
More Arrests In Yerevan As #Armenia Opposition Protests Resume https://t.co/RWN3uVz69B

— Eugene Chausovsky (@eugenechausovsk) April 20, 2018

The spokesman for Sargsyan’s ruling Republican Party said the newly elected prime minister would not step down.

“We respects citizens’ right to freedom of assembly but we rule out the possibility of the prime minister resigning,” Eduard Sharmazanov told journalists late Thursday.

Human Rights Watch condemned the “arbitrary arrests” of demonstrators.

“One should not underestimate the challenges Armenia’s police are facing in maintaining law and order, but the ongoing protests are no justification to arbitrarily detain people,” it said in a statement.

Parliament elected Sargsyan as prime minister on Tuesday after he served a decade as president from 2008 under a new parliamentary system of government.

Controversial constitutional amendments approved in 2015 have transferred governing powers from the presidency to the premier.

In the biggest protest in Armenia in years, tens of thousands took to the streets over Sargsyan’s election as prime minister on Tuesday night but the number of demonstrators has since dwindled. Some 15,000 rallied in Yerevan on Thursday night.

Tens of thousands of Armenians gathered in Yerevan's Republic Square to denounce the parliament's election of Serzh Sarkisian as prime minister, just a week after he stepped down as president https://t.co/gWcvwP8WbZ pic.twitter.com/l2H1nmNLtd

— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 17, 2018

Share1Tweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Armenia border
World

Nearly 100 Killed in Armenia-Azerbaijan Border Clashes

by Staff Writer
September 13, 2022
Azerbaijan-Armenia
Media Freedom

Mine Blast Kills Azerbaijani Reporters, Official Near Karabakh

by Staff Writer
June 4, 2021
President Donald Trump and US Attorney General William Barr step off Air Force One upon arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland last September 1, 2020.
National

US Attorney General Says No Evidence of Decisive Election Fraud

by Staff Writer
December 2, 2020
Azeris celebrate in the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, November 10, 2020.
World

Armenia, Azerbaijan Agree to Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Deal

by Staff Writer
November 10, 2020
A local resident stands by a cafe damaged by shelling in the settlement of Dord Yol in Azerbaijan.
World

UN Rights Chief Warns of Possible ‘War Crimes’ in Karabakh Conflict

by Staff Writer
November 2, 2020
Protestors demanding justice for Jacob Blake face police outside the County Courthouse in Kenosha, Wisconsin. AFP
National

Two Killed, One Wounded In Third Night of Kenosha Shooting Protest

by Anya Ruppert
August 26, 2020
Next Post
Reuters journalists Myanmar Wa Lone

Testimony: Reuters Reporters Set Up by Myanmar Police

Protesters in Armenia

Armenia's Youth Say 'Enough' as Sargsyan Extends His Rule

Recommended

Damage from a series of powerful storms and at least one tornado is seen on March 25, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Mississippi

After Tornado Kills 25, Mississippi Faces More Extreme Weather

March 26, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
participants of an artificial intelligence conference

How AI Could Upend the World Even More Than Electricity or the Internet

March 19, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
Heavily armed police inspect the area near a Jehovah's Witness church where several people have been killed in a shooting in Hamburg, northern Germany

Eight Dead in Shooting at Jehovah’s Witness Hall in Germany

March 10, 2023
Myanmar Rohingya refugees look on in a refugee camp in Teknaf, in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar, on November 26, 2016

US Announces $26M in New Aid for Rohingya

March 8, 2023

Opinion

Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Top view of the US House of Representatives

‘Cringy Awards:’ Who Is the Most Embarrassing US House Representative?

February 13, 2023
Protesters rally against the fatal police assault of Tyre Nichols, outside of the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center in Detroit, Michigan, on January 27, 2023

How Do Violent ‘Monsters’ Take Root?

February 3, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post