Armenians continue streets protests against authorities
By Rashid Shirinov
The Sasna Tsrer armed group that seized the police building in Yerevan continues to receive support from the population.
Hundreds of people went to streets in Yerevan, mainly gathering in the Freedom Square, supporting the group's antigovernment position.
The protesters believe that 'brave Sassoon', as they call the attackers, are not terrorists as they were named by the Armenian authorities.
“They are heroes and should not be considered as terrorists. It is necessary to expand the information access of the armed group, to provide its members with Internet and also make the negotiation process open for the public,” the protesters claim.
Recently, the activists were able to force the government to provide the attackers with food.
It is obvious that the members of the Sasna Tsrer group are respected by the Armenian society and enjoy their sympathy, which surely threats the country’s authorities.
Jirair Sefilyan, who is demanded to be released by the government, has fought long against the Sargsyan regime through holding antigovernment events and rallies. Following the seizure, the number of Sefilyan’s supporters has increased markedly.
Following the recent rallies, which degenerated into riots between citizens and the police, the Investigative Committee of Armenia opened a criminal case.
The Committee claims that the opposition members were destroying the police property and committed violence against police officers. According to the criminal code of Armenia, the detainees are threatened by imprisonment for a term of 3-8 years.
Meanwhile, many Armenians claim that the clashes were caused by the latter. Throwing stones into people is in style of the Armenian government, said Anahit Bakhshyan, head of Hello Yerevan faction. “All these mean that Armenia is a police state,” she added “ Official bodies of the country, including the President, do not even try to resolve the situation.”
On July 17, a group of armed men entered the territory of the Armenian police patrol department in the Erebuni district of Yerevan and took several people hostage. The attackers demand the release of Armenian opposition figure Jirair Sefilyan, who was arrested nearly a month ago on charges of illegal possession of arms. They also claim resignation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan.
The police states that during the seizure of the building one policeman was killed and four were injured. Currently, the attackers hold four policemen in hostage, including the deputy chief of Armenian police major-General Vardan Yeghiazaryan and the deputy chief of Yerevan police, Colonel Valeri Osipyan. The armed group refuses to lay arms down and surrender to the authorities.
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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov
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