The protests being held by the Armenian opposition groups to topple Nikol Pashinyan and his cabinet have not yet reached their peak, Artur Vanetsyan, the leader of the opposition Homeland Party and the With Honor parliamentary faction, told reporters on Wednesday.
Vanetsyan, who formerly headed Armenia’s National Security Service, started an open-ended sit-in in Yerevan’s Liberty Square along with a group of opposition activists on April 17.
The opposition announced the start of the “second phase” of its “decentralized” campaign on April 25, holding small-scale protests and marches in Yerevan every day.
"We have not yet reached the decisive stage, everything is still ahead," Vanetsyan said, adding the movement is attracting more public attention with each passing day.
“At first, there was an atmosphere of fear, as people were afraid to be targeted on social media or at work. But people have already made their decision and it remains for us to correctly wrap it up and bring it to an end,” the opposition leader said.
He says that many people coming to Liberty Square call attention to social issues.
“The incumbent authorities have failed in all spheres. They say that Nikol Pashinyan came to power promising a better life for the people. Instead, he handed over Artsakh and undermined the security system of Armenia. People realize that they cannot live well without long-term security guarantees in place,” the opposition politician said.