Seventh Day of Protests in Armenia Accompanied by Arrests of Protesters

On the seventh day of street protests in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, on Thursday, April 30, riot police blocked roads leading to one of the main government buildings and pushed back protesters, arresting several of them. The recent week-long gatherings have been in protest against the introduction of former President Serge Sargsyan as the new Prime Minister. Sargsyan, who was the President of Armenia until last week, was nominated by the ruling party for the Prime Minister position following a change in the country's governance system and was eventually appointed with 76 votes in favor and 17 against. Sargsyan had previously promised not to seek the Prime Minister position, and now Nikol Pashinyan and other opposition leaders accuse him of breaking this commitment. Pashinyan, the leader of the recent protests, called on protesters on Wednesday to gather in front of government buildings in 'Republic Square' in Yerevan to prevent government employees from entering their offices. An Armenian police official told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that 20 demonstrators were arrested during security forces' efforts to open access to one of the offices, and a woman was injured during the chaos. The government building where the protesters gathered houses the ministries of agriculture, health, labor and social affairs, and several other government agencies. During Wednesday's gathering, security forces had also arrested dozens of protesters. Pashinyan has urged people to apply more pressure on local authorities to join them, while the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, led by Sargsyan, has asked Pashinyan to come to parliament 'for dialogue.' The United States has urged both sides of the dispute to exercise restraint and avoid violence. Russia has also called for the law to not be violated in these conflicts. Three years ago, Armenian voters approved a referendum to change the governance system from presidential to parliamentary, reducing the powers of the president and increasing the authority of the prime minister.