Fact: It's Not the First Time Pashinyan Uses Brutal Force Against Protesting Citizens

The "Fact" newspaper reports that in the spring of 2018, when members of the "My Step" initiative arrived in Yerevan from Gyumri on foot and began a series of protests, Nikol Pashinyan was calling for peaceful acts of civil disobedience, such as closing streets and blocking state institutions, including the National Assembly building, to prevent MPs from entering the legislative body.

Members of the movement even stormed the building of Public Radio, which was under state protection. It was through such methods that the My Step faction came to power, but even after that, such actions continued. Following Pashinyan's call, citizens again blocked the National Assembly building in October 2018, when he claimed that a counter-revolutionary scenario was being developed in the Assembly.

No such directive existed, nor could it have existed; those committing illegal acts were already the authorities at that point. By May 2019, following Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's call, citizens blocked all courts in Yerevan starting early in the morning. Employees, judges, and lawyers were unable to enter the court buildings.

Given the trajectory of such political activity, it seemed that the authorities would show tolerance towards protests initiated by others; however, these expectations turned out to be utterly unfounded as the authorities adopted a harsher stance against opposition members and citizens dissatisfied with their policies.

Particularly noteworthy is the government’s approach toward youth members of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, who were demanding the resignation of the Minister of Education and Science. The representatives of the ARF Youth Organization announced that they would go to the Ministry to meet with Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, yet the minister did not attend the meeting. Afterward, the youth broke through a police cordon and began their protest in front of the ministry's entrance, but police forcibly removed them from the entrance of the Ministry of Education and Science.

The youth also attempted to block Vazgen Sargsyan Street, but police did not allow this, claiming it would violate the rights of others, resulting in several youths being detained.

This is not the first instance of Pashinyan using brutal force against protesting citizens. We do not single out the police, as they are a military structure and thus execute orders. The question is what orders they receive from their direct superiors - the Prime Minister.

For more details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.