TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) – Ex-Soviet Armenia is locked in a political crisis after the ruling party, severely weakened after days of protests that forced its nominee for prime minister to quit, dug in its heels and refused to back Pashinyan to replace him.
The standoff is being watched closely by Russia, which sees Armenia as a close ally and is wary of it going the same way as Ukraine, where an uprising swept to power new leaders who pulled the country out of Moscow's orbit.
In the capital, Yerevan, all the main streets were blocked by cars, minibuses and garbage bins. The road to the international airport was blocked. A spokesman for the civil aviation authority said one flight had been canceled.
Reuters reporters in Yerevan said shops and offices were open, and some people were still trying to get to work, despite the roadblocks. Protesters marched through the streets, shouting "Nikol! Victory!", waving flags and blowing horns.
Police tried to persuade protesters to open roads, but did not use force. Local media reported that there were also protests in several other cities in Armenia, a country of three million people that is home to a Russian military base.
Tiny Armenia is strategically valuable for Russia, nestled in mountains between NATO-member Turkey and energy exporter Azerbaijan, with which Armenia has been in a state of conflict since both emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Pashinyan, in an interview with Reuters at a protest in Yerevan where he was surrounded by cheering supporters, said he would keep the pressure on the ruling party.
"My only power is my people. We are not going to give up," said Pashinyan, dressed in his trademark camouflage T-shirt and cap. "We will continue our strike and disobedience."
Armenia's president, Armen Sarkissian, called for talks this week to try to find a way out of the crisis. The presidency is largely ceremonial, with most authority resting with the prime minister, under a new system that opponents say was devised to let veteran leader Serzh Sarksyan keep his grip on power after his second presidential term expired last month.
"I deeply regret that the political crisis continues despite the fact that everyone is talking about how dangerous it is for the future of the country," Sarkissian said in a statement.
Source: Reuters