Since the capitulation of the separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, 100,000 people have crossed the border to return to Armenia. A massive exodus of populations towards a country where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian is contested. His opponents called for a rally this Saturday, September 30 in the capital Yerevan. An event which did not have the expected success.
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With our special correspondent in Yerevan, Daniel Vallot
A few thousand people at most gathered on the main square of the Armenian capital this Saturday, September 30. The organizers, who wanted to make their voice heard against Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, themselves recognized that the mobilization did not live up to their ambitions.
Since, they also say it themselves, it is a question of obtaining nothing more and nothing less than the departure of their Prime Minister, deemed responsible for the Armenian defeat in 2020 and therefore the loss of Nagorno-Karabakh. Exacerbated anger in the context of the massive arrival of refugees in Armenia, a consequence of the capitulation of the separatist enclave. More than 100,000 people have crossed the border in recent days.
“ Nikol Pashinian has made all the wrong decisions since he came to power. He is the one who weakened our army “, one of the organizers of the rally told RFI. Two criticisms are mainly addressed to the Armenian Prime Minister: his decisions concerning the conduct of the conflict with Azerbaijan and his back turned on Russia, Armenia’s traditional ally, which ultimately preferred to remain on the sidelines in this conflict.
Among the demonstrators on site, the hatred is deep towards the political leader, which crystallizes anger. For Sanan Ter-Petrossian, a resident of Yerevan, the solution is the fall of the Prime Minister: “ First, I hope that Pashinian and his regime will be overthrown. Once overthrown, we will be able to unite and resist the Azerbaijanis and the Turks “.
However, she herself participated in the 2018 revolution, in reaction to the corruption of the old regime. But the succession does not give him satisfaction: “ The first time he was elected, it was because people were drunk, drunk on the revolutionremembers the young woman. But now, looking back, we see that corruption was not Armenia’s main problem. The main problem is security. And now we see the result: we lost Nagorno-Karabakh and soon we will lose Armenia. »
For the moment, priority to refugees
The opposition therefore wishes to obtain the resignation of the Armenian Prime Minister and the formation of an interim government. And among the demonstrators, we even say they are ready to obtain this departure if necessary by force. For the moment, the mobilization is far from massive. It is even rather weak, which bodes poorly for the chances of this opposition to Nikol Pashinian achieving its ends.
As a reminder, the Armenian leader was re-elected after the defeat of 2020 and still today concentrates the support of a large part of his electorate. At least those who prefer to see him in office rather than the return to power of former Armenian leaders considered corrupt. The fact remains that the priority of the Armenian population today is to manage the reception of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh and to face this crisis without further weakening the country.
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