Panorama, Armenia

Dec 28 2020

 

 

 

Civil disobedience actions will continue in Yerevan on a daily basis until Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan steps down, Vazgen Manukyan, the joint candidate of the opposition forces for interim prime minister, told reporters in the Republic Square on Monday.

 

After holding a rally outside the National Assembly earlier in the day, a group of opposition activists marched to the Republic Square in the city center, with Vazgen Manukyan joining them. The protest in the square did not last long.

 

The opposition leader stated every day that Pashinyan stays in power is “destructive” for Armenia.

 

Reacting to the premier’s call for snap elections, the opposition candidate expressed doubt that Pashinyan really wants to hold elections, adding he “deliberately wants to divide the arena into different groups: those who agree and those who don’t.”

 

“It’s his regular trick to divide the society into the old and the new, the black and the white, the elite and the ordinary people. We have clearly stated that no elections can be held in Armenia under the leadership of Nikol Pashinyan. First of all, he must leave, a government of national accord must be formed to increase the combat readiness of our army and to hold talks for at least one year,” he said, expressing concerns over the handover of more borders to Azerbaijan as a “disgrace”.

 

“Even during the communist era, our and their central committees fought for every inch of land. And now, without negotiations and international law borders are being drawn. Holding elections in a few months means splitting the country again," Manukyan said.

 

The opposition politician noted during the elections all the parties will start fighting, adding “until we come to our senses, such a thing cannot be done.”

 

"He must step down until the snap elections. I don't even want to discuss the option that he may stay and hold elections,” he said, adding otherwise the elections will turn into confrontations inside the country.