Armenians continue street protests against government
By Rashid Shirinov
The surrender of armed group Sasna Tsrer, who was seizing the building of a police station in Yerevan for 15 days, did not mean the end of mass protests in Armenia. Armenian people gathered again to a rally on August 1.
Despite the heavy rain, the protest action started in the evening on the Liberty square of Yerevan. After being there for a while, people started their procession through the streets of the city.
At the end of the march, protesters went to the hospital, where Pavel and Aram Manukyan, members of Sasna Tsrer, are kept. To express their support to the detainees, the demonstrators chanted ‘Pavlik’, ‘Aram’ and ‘Unity’, then a large group of marchers sat on the ground and sang patriotic songs.
After that, the demonstrators decided to meet near the Chamber of Advocates at 13.00 of August 2, and then come to the Freedom square for conducting another rally.
Meanwhile, Armenian police continues its terrible actions towards the population of Yerevan. Law enforcement officers use stun grenades and police batons against unarmed people. As a result, a 17-year-old young man lost his eye. The police also damaged a leg of the boy. He continues getting treatment in the intensive care unit of a medical center.
Following the July 29 rally in the Sari Tagh district of Yerevan, the police arrested 165 people. As a result of last clashes, 73 citizens appealed to medical institutions with injuries of varying degrees of severity. Currently, 17 of them still stay in hospitals.
Not only ordinary demonstrators, but also journalists suffer from the atrocities of the Armenian police. During the riots of July 29 in the district of Sari Tagh and other places, 13 journalists were injured by the police.
“The Government should implement practical steps to ensure restraint on the part of law enforcement representatives toward members of the media and suggested steps should be taken by the authorities to guarantee that the press is not targeted by the police or thugs,” OSCE representative on freedom of the media Dunja Mijatovic addressed the Minister of foreign Affairs of Armenia Edward Nalbandian on the issue. The police should be protecting journalists and members of the media, she said.
Armenian experts also spoke on the problem. “They are unable to protect their own regiment, but instead they can beat journalists. It is a tragedy for our society,” political scientist Ruben Mehrabyan said while condemning the police treatment with people.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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