Armenian Protesters Demand PM’s Resignation

Republic World
Dec 23 2020
Written By

Associated Press Television News

Thousands of people took to the streets of Yerevan again on Tuesday demanding the Armenian prime minister's resignation over his handling of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.

Opposition politicians and their supporters have been calling for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to step down for weeks since he signed a peace deal that halted 44 days of deadly fighting at the cost of territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.

Crowds of protesters on Tuesday gathered near government buildings in Yerevan, chanting "Nikol, go away!"

Several hours into the rally, opposition supporters erected tents on Yerevan's main square.

Heavy fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh erupted in late September in the biggest escalation of the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, killing more than 5,600 people on both sides.

A peace deal brokered by Russia on November 10 saw Azerbaijan reclaim control over broad swathes of the region and surrounding lands which were held by Armenian forces for more than a quarter-century.

The peace deal was celebrated in Azerbaijan as a major triumph, but sparked outrage and mass protests in Armenia where thousands repeatedly took to the streets.

Pashinyan has defended the deal as a painful but necessary move that prevented Azerbaijan from overrunning the entire Nagorno-Karabakh region.

(IMAGE CREDITS:AP)