During the last several days Armenian citizens have stood for their constitutional rights in a series of peaceful protests. A previously soviet state, Armenia has gained independence in 1992, and was a presidential country since then. In a national referendum in 2017 Armenia has shifted into a parliamentary republic. The ex-president of Armenia, Serge Sarkissian, who held 2 terms in line 2008-2018, was elected by the leading political party as the new Prime Minister in mid-April 2018. Meanwhile an opposition leader and member of parliament Nikol Pashinyan, started the rallies against the Prime Minister’s 3rd term in the role of the head of the country. On April 23rd the newly appointed Prime Minister Sarkissian resigned as a result of several thousand protesters’ demand, all over the country, as well as in the Armenian communities worldwide.
Among thousands of students and young people who joined the protests a number of Armenian authors have also been standing to express their solidarity. Among a couple of hundred detained citizens was also an acclaimed writer of the new generation Aram Pachyan, who was freed later to join again the rally. Pachyan’s literature has had many followers since his debut in 2011, with several editions of all his books some of them – national bestsellers. He was also criticized by groups of conservative writers for openly condemning some of the important political and social issues of the country. We do believe that democracy is the only winning power and we support freedom of expression and freedom to exercise their constitutional rights. If you want to learn more and follow the developments of the current events, please, see the links below.
Civilnet: https://www.civilnet.am/news/english-reports
EVN Report: https://www.evnreport.com/
Peace to everyone!