Since Friday, protests have swept Armenia\u2019s capital, Yerevan, on news that the country\u2019s outgoing president \u2013 who has served the maximum two terms \u2013 plans to become prime minister.\u00a0Many Armenians believe this would amount to a de facto third term as president.<\/p>\n
Parliament is set to vote for prime minster tomorrow, and the president, Serzh Sargsyan, is the ruling party\u2019s candidate.<\/p>\n
The demonstrations in Yerevan \u2013 attracting thousands of protesters \u2013 have been led by prominent opposition parliament member Nikol Pashinian. He called on people to engage in civil disobedience, including by forming a human chain around parliament to prevent members from entering and voting. Rallies took place throughout the weekend. This morning, thousands of people started blocking major streets and bridges.<\/p>\n
The movement\u2019s leaders have urged protesters to be peaceful, and most of the rallies across the city have been. But protesters and police briefly clashed this afternoon, when demonstrators broke through a police barrier near the parliament building. Police allegedly used stun grenades. As a result of clashes, forty protesters and six policemen were taken to\u00a0the\u00a0hospital.<\/a><\/p>\n One media report said<\/a>\u00a0police detained four protesters who were blocking a road, releasing them about two hours later without charge, and protesters who held a sit-in on a road were assaulted by frustrated motorists and\u00a0men in black t-shirts<\/a>. Police were slow to intervene. At least one injured protester was reportedly taken to the hospital and discharged this evening.<\/p>\n As I write this, hundreds, possibly thousands, of people are protesting on Baghramian Street near the parliament building. They\u2019re separated from a police cordon by several meters and barbed wire fence. So far police have refrained from breaking up the crowd, but issued warnings calling on the crowd to disperse. The situation is tense.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t help remembering demonstrations in Yerevan from the past few years, when police used excessive force to break up largely peaceful crowds. In June 2015, police beat up and used water cannons against people protesting electricity price hikes. I personally knew several people who were injured. In July 2016,\u00a0police beat and used stun grenades against largely peaceful protesters<\/a>, wounding dozens. Yet no police have been held criminally accountable.<\/p>\n Armenia\u2019s authorities should protect people\u2019s right to peaceful assembly. Any police response needs to be proportionate and in line with\u00a0United Nations law enforcement standards<\/a>. It is never too late for Armenia\u2019s police to turn around their poor record on using excessive force.<\/p>\n