ARMENIA’S political turmoil deepened on Sunday with the detention of anti-government protest leader Nikol Pashinyan, shortly after Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian stormed out of talks with him on the tenth day of mass rallies against his rule. Pashinyan and two other opposition politicians “were detained as they were committing socially dangerous acts”, the prosecutor general’s office said in a statement.

It came hours after Sarkisian stormed out of talks with Pashinyan on Sunday morning, accusing him of “blackmail”. The tense televised meeting in the capital Yerevan between the premier and Pashinyan lasted only a couple of minutes before the premier cut it short.

Pashinyan then vowed to “step up pressure” on Sarkisian to force him to resign and called on police officers to “lay down arms and join in the protests”. But instead security forces intervened using stun grenades and began dispersing the crowd in Yerevan’s suburban Erebuni district. After Pashinyan’s detention, thousands of protesters gathered at Republic Square outside the government’s headquarters, which were cordoned off by riot police. Hundreds of people were detained, police said in a statement.

Opposition supporters have criticised the 63-year-old leader over poverty, corruption and the influence of powerful oligarchs. Pashinyan had earlier announced the “start of a peaceful velvet revolution” in the landlocked South Caucasus nation of 2.9 million people. Under a new parliamentary system of government, lawmakers elected Sarkisian as prime minister last week. Constitutional amendments approved in 2015 have transferred power from the presidency to the premiership. After Sarkisian was first elected in 2008, 10 people died and hundreds were injured in post-election clashes between police and supporters of the defeated opposition candidate.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2018