Armenia arrests protesters opposing Azerbaijan land deal

Armenian police arrested dozens of protesters after they attempted to block major roads in Yerevan on Tuesday morning to protest the transfer of land to Azerbaijan as part of ongoing peace talks between the two neighboring countries to resolve a decades-long conflict.

According to a police report, 38 people were arrested as of 10:00 AM local time (06:00 GMT). The previous day, police briefly detained 150 protesters.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who is striving to reach a peace agreement after decades of regional disputes with Baku, agreed to return border villages that the Armenian army had captured in the 1990s.

The two countries conducted joint border demarcation efforts at the end of April.

The "Tavush for the Homeland" movement, led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan of the region, calls for the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Galstanyan has emerged as a leading figure in the protests, while the opposition's reputation in Armenia remains tarnished due to its association with the former regime, which was overthrown by a popular protest movement in 2018 that brought Pashinyan to power.

In addition to calling for demonstrations, the cleric has attempted to gather enough parliamentary votes to oust the Prime Minister, a challenging task given Pashinyan's significant parliamentary majority.

The Archbishop cannot run for the Prime Minister position due to his dual Armenian and Canadian citizenship.

AFP