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Thousands of Armenians, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, marched via the capital Yerevan on Saturday in reminiscence of the troopers killed in a six-week battle with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh area.
“The entire nation has been through and is going through a nightmare,” Pashinyan stated in a video message earlier than the march. “Sometimes it seems that all of our dreams have been dashed and our optimism destroyed.”
As Armenia started three days of mourning for the battle that killed almost 3,000 Armenians, Pashinyan confronted rising calls from the opposition to step down over the dealing with of the battle and what critics name a humiliating peace cope with Azerbaijan.
The prime minister, accompanied by prime officers, led a procession to the Yerablur navy memorial cemetery in Yerevan to gentle incense on the graves of the fallen troopers.
What did Armenia agree to?
The opposition, in the meantime, labeled the 45-year-old chief a “traitor” for agreeing to finish the battle in November with a Russia-brokered peace deal that noticed Armenia cede swaths of the Nagorno-Karabakh area to Azerbaijan.
The lack of land managed by ethnic Armenian forces for greater than 1 / 4 of a century has angered Armenians, lots of whom have been protesting towards Pashinyan for weeks.
Many critics chanted “Nikol the traitor” as the prime minister’s convoy handed by, whereas some stated he ought to have stayed away from the cemetery.
“He must not desecrate the graves of our children,” stated Misak Avetisyan, who misplaced a son within the battle.
Heavy safety was deployed on the cemetery, crammed to the brink with Pashinyan’s supporters who engaged in scuffles together with his opponents.
Pashinyan, whose spouse and son have been on the entrance through the battle, has rejected the calls to resign. He has defended the peace deal as Armenia’s solely possibility to guarantee Karabakh’s survival.
Opposition to stage nationwide strike
Later on Saturday, about 20,000 opposition supporters additionally marched throughout the capital to commemorate the victims of the battle.
Armenia’s opposition has referred to as on its supporters to stage a nationwide strike on December 22, on the finish of the three-day mourning interval, to strain Pashinyan to step down.
Pashinyan swept to energy in a peaceable revolution in May 2018. But because the newest battle, many accuse him of betraying Armenia’s pursuits.
Key public figures have joined calls for his resignation, together with the influential head of Armenia’s Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin, and 14 retired navy generals who issued a press release on Saturday criticizing the federal government’s dealing with of the battle.
“This war did not have to happen,” stated former prime minister Vazgen Manukyan, who the opposition says ought to substitute Pashinyan.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have for many years been engaged in a simmering battle over Nagorno-Karabakh. The enclave is internationally acknowledged as a part of Azerbaijan however has been managed by ethnic Armenians for the previous 30 years.
The newest battle over the disputed area erupted in late September, leaving greater than 5,000 individuals dead, together with civilians on either side, and 1000’s extra displaced.
As a part of the deal, Russia has deployed nearly2,000 peacekeeping troops to Karabakh for no less than 5 years to monitor the peace settlement.
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