Solidarity to Armenian People - Protest Rally Held in Tbilisi

A group of Georgians and Armenians living in Tbilisi, gathered on Sunday evening at the Armenian Embassy in Tbilisi to express solidarity with the Armenian people, who have been holding large-scale protest rallies against the Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan, since April 13.

The demonstrators in Tbilisi condemned the dispersal and detention of Armenian protesters, saying it is unacceptable.

"We express solidarity to what is happening now in Armenia. As a student, I am especially supporting the students there, "said Norig Gasparian, a student in Tbilisi.

Participant of the rally, Elene Mechitova, noted that the protest was spontaneous, adding it is aimed at showing the Armenian people support from Tbilisi.

“We know that many people have been arrested. We want to tell them that we support them,” she said.

Protest rallies have been underway in all large cities of Armenia against former President Serzh Sargsyan’s election as Prime Minister on April 17.

On April 22, police used force against protesters on Artsakh Street in Yerevan and detained dozens of people, including MPs Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Sasun Mikaelyan.

Prior to the detentions, a short meeting between Armenian Prime Minister and MP Nikol Pashinyan was held in the capital's Marriott hotel on Sunday morning.

Armenian media reports that in response to Pashinyan’s intention to discuss conditions of his resignation, Sargsyan accused the politician of blackmail and left the hotel.

Afterwards, the protesters released the address of Pashinyan, who called on the demonstrators to avoid clashes.

“In any case, avoid possible clashes with the police, do not respond to violence,” Pashinyan said.

His message was read by an MP from the Yelq parliamentary group, Lena Nazaryan, a member of the Civil Contract party. According to her, Pashinyan said that the fight should continue.

On Monday morning, Armenian students kicked off a protest outside the Yerevan State University.

According to news.am, a group of demonstrators have blocked a downtown intersection of the capital city of Armenia.

Separately, Yerevan State Medical University students have launched a protest action at another downtown Yerevan intersection. Police, however, used force against and detained some of them.

By Thea Morrison