02 March 2021, 08:37
Rallies of Pashinyan and his opponents gather about 28,000 people
On March 1, supporters of Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian Prime Minister, and of the opposition held their parallel rallies in Yerevan.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the opposition accused the authorities of using the administrative resource in an attempt to ensure the mass nature of the rally scheduled for today in the centre of Yerevan.
The situation in Yerevan worsened after on February 25, the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces demanded Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. This was preceded by Pashinyan's dismissal of Tiran Khachatryan, a Deputy Chief of the General Staff, who has treated the Premier's words about the poor combat capability of the missile systems purchased from Russia and the Premier's demand to dismiss Onik Gasparyan, the Chief of the General Staff, as "frivolous".
The oppositional rally began in Bagramyan Avenue in central Yerevan at 6:00 p.m. local time. A rally of Pashinyan's supporters began at the same time began in Republic Square.
Pashinyan's opponents chanted: "Armenia without Nikol!" and "Nation – Army – Victory!" They held Armenian state flags of and posters with the names of the cities from which they came to support the opposition, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.
The rally in support of Pashinyan began with the anthem of Armenia. This rally commemorated the victims of the Karabakh war, and then – the victims of the March 1, 2008, clash, the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent reports.
Mr Pashinyan has refuted the fact that "authorities used administrative resources to force people to take part in a rally in his support."
He asked forgiveness from residents of Artsakh (the self-name of Nagorno-Karabakh), Armenia and Diaspora "for all possible mistakes made by him and his government," as well as for all the mistakes of previous authorities.
The Premier has also noted that in this difficult situation, certain forces are trying to take power away from the people. "But we will not allow this," Nikol Pashinyan has stated.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 1, 2021 at 09:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Armine Martirosyan Source: CK correspondent
