"We won't leave the streets in the coming months," - leader of the protest movement in Armenia
Bagrat Galstanyan at a press conference
“We will not leave the streets in the coming months. The street struggle will continue,” stated Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the leader of the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement, at a press conference. This movement began in April with demands to halt the delimitation of the Armenian–Azerbaijani border. However, since early May, the main demand has shifted to the resignation of Armenia’s current prime minister. The opposition has nominated Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan as their candidate for prime minister.
According to him, the movement will “become more extensive, spread throughout Armenia, and set the agenda.” When asked by journalists about this agenda, the archbishop responded, “Real negotiations with Azerbaijan, not negotiations conducted under duress.” He believes that for “real negotiations” to occur, it is necessary to adhere to Armenian laws and international law principles, and to involve guarantors to ensure the agreements are upheld.
The movement’s leader also addressed the border delimitation process, a topic that protest participants have recently stopped discussing:
“They ask us why we have forgotten about delimitation. We haven’t forgotten anything; all issues are included in our agenda. And there is only one solution—the resignation of the current prime minister.”
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What alternative does the movement propose?
“We will achieve real, stable, and long-term peace. But this man [prime minister Nikol Pashinyan] leads us to war and prolongs the conflict,” said the leader of the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement.
He assured that the opposition has developed an “exemplary agenda” for future actions. This agenda aims to achieve “real negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and to dictate the following conditions at the negotiating table”:
- The return of prisoners of war held in Azerbaijani prisons.
- The realization of the right for Karabakh Armenians to return to their homes, which they left after the military operation in September 2023.
- The implementation of border delimitation and demarcation only after a peace treaty is concluded.
“It’s not possible to keep giving away parts of your country, complying with all demands under coercion, acting under dictation, and expecting someone to sign a peace treaty with you. Why should they [the Azerbaijanis] sign agreements instead of making new demands? And Pashinyan’s government constantly makes unilateral concessions under pressure,” said Galstanyan.
The question of impeachment remains on the list of demands.
Journalists asked Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan how the movement intends to achieve the prime minister’s resignation if they do not have enough supporters to initiate the impeachment process in parliament. He responded that all possible options are being considered:
“The main goal is to achieve our aim through legal means. The movement’s organizational or ideological team will decide on the tactics.”
The protest leader emphasized that the movement is supported by various politicians and both large and small parties, all of whom have reached a “consensus” on the prime minister’s resignation.
Opposition deputies have the option to resign from their mandates, which would lead to the dissolution of parliament and new elections. This could help them achieve their goal of ousting the current government. Members of the ruling team have repeatedly advised opposition deputies to resign in order to achieve their aim. However, the opposition has been reluctant to take this path.
When asked if the opposition would take such a drastic step and whether there would be early parliamentary elections, the archbishop replied that this is one of the “political decisions, one of the possible options.“
“Attempts to link the movement with former authorities are futile”
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan stated that the movement is not backed by any particular political force; instead, various parties have joined it.
Commenting on the support from former Armenian presidents, he said, “I maintain warm relations with the family of the first president [Levon Ter-Petrosyan], the circle of the second president [Robert Kocharyan], and all associates of the third president [Serzh Sargsyan].“
However, he assured that he has always ideologically aligned himself with the opposition:
“There have always been mistakes, shortcomings, and even failures that were unacceptable to us. That’s precisely why we are in this state.”
At the same time, the protest leader stated that “the failures of the past three decades were fixable, unlike the current catastrophe.”
According to the archbishop, “there is no internal or external influence on the movement.” He aimed to counter the widespread belief in Armenia that the movement is led by pro-Russian former presidents Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, acting on behalf of Russia. Bagrat Galstanyan declared the “Tavush for the Homeland” movement as a national liberation movement.
