VETO Members Gather in Front of Artashat Police Station

VETO members are currently gathered in front of the Artashat police station. In the morning, Narek Malyan, the leader of the VETO movement, Ani Hovhannisyan, editor of the Analytical website, and other participants of the VETO movement were detained from the territory of the Khor Virap monastic complex.

Narek Malyan had released a video message the day before, indicating that a motorcade protest against the extension of the state of emergency would take place today at 11:00 AM.

Arthur Danielyan, co-founder of the Adequate Movement, stated that he has been following the police's actions and was surprised to see their operations. He noted that in a country where the authorities have an 85 percent approval rating, they should not fear a one-man protest by Narek Malyan.

Danielyan emphasized that Malyan had previously mentioned he would be conducting a solo protest traveling from Khor Virap to Yerevan, and that no decree from the commandant was violated during this time.

“When we arrived at the Artashat police station, just a few minutes earlier, Hayk Mamijanyan was targeted and detained, with police claiming he hadn't maintained social distancing. If there were two people, why was he the only one detained and not the other, especially when there were 30 people present? It is clear that the authorities are conducting some operations out of fear of something. We are currently waiting to see when Malyan will come out. If the police escalate the situation, it is not excluded that we will resist since it is evident that people are being taken off the streets for political purposes,” he added.

Arthur Danielyan stated that it is clear the Government has failed in its fight against the coronavirus and that the situation has spiraled out of control. “Taking any measures after May has become meaningless, but starting in June, they began to fight against the coronavirus and simply banned gatherings, declaring a nationwide mask regime, the aim of which is to shift the blame from the Government onto the shoulders of the people. The authorities spare no effort to enforce restrictions on gatherings to mitigate any political risks to themselves. All legislative initiatives were pushed through during the state of emergency; this includes the Lanzarote Convention as well as the 'legitimate pretext' for ending the unannounced hunting of Constitutional Court judges. I am confident that many legislative acts will be adopted under the guise of the state of emergency,” he added.