Threat of chaos in Armenia

On 17 July, an armed group of thirty men calling themselves the Fighters of Sassoun occupied a police station in Yerevan and took several policemen hostage (they were released a few days later). The fighters, who are the armed wing of the nationalist organisation ‘Founding Parliament’, are mainly veterans of the war in Nagorno-Karabakh, and they demanded the release of Zhirair Sefilian (the leader of the organisation who was detained in June this year) and the dismissal of President Serzh Sargsyan.

The police trapped the men inside the station and appealed to the group to lay down their arms. Unexpectedly, the fighters received support from the Armenian public. Thousands of people have been taking to the streets of Yerevan every day to demonstrate support to the fighters, who are viewed as national heroes. The protesters declare that they will not allow the building to be taken by storm. Numerous clashes with the police (with both fighters and demonstrators involved), mass arrests, and beatings of demonstrators and law enforcement officers have been seen. Members of the Founding Parliament are being arrested in Armenia. The opposition has also become more active, criticising the government for the existing situation and appealing for a peaceful resolution of the crisis. President Sargsyan has also received criticised for his allegedly conciliatory stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue during the current peace talks.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: The four-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh http://www.europeansources.info/record/the-four-day-war-in-nagorno-karabakh/

ESO: Background information: Armed men in Armenia seize police station, demand politicians’ release http://www.europeansources.info/record/armed-men-in-armenia-seize-police-station-demand-politicians-release/

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