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Armenia’s opposition leader detained after failed talks

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YEREVAN: 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. Armenian police earlier denied opposition MP Sasun Mikaelyan’s report that Pashinyan had been arrested. Pashinyan whereabouts have so far been unknown.


As a lawmaker, he is protected by parliamentary immunity and cannot be arrested without the approval of fellow MPs.


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. “I came here to discuss your resignation,” Pashinyan, the leader of the opposition Civil Contract party, had told the prime minister in front of the cameras.


“This is not a dialogue, this is blackmail, I only can advise you to return to a legal framework... Otherwise you will bear the responsibility” for the consequences, replied Sarkisian, a former military officer.  “You don’t understand the situation in Armenia. The power is now in people’s hands,” Pashinyan hit back. Sarkisian said the Civil Contract party “can’t speak on behalf of the people”, having scored only 8 per cent in a recent parliamentary election, during the brief talks. 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”. — AFP


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