Thousands of people marched in Yerevan late on Monday in support of opposition gunmen that have occupied an Armenia police station for more than a week to demand the release of their jailed leader and President Serzh Sarkisian’s resignation.
It was the biggest crowd attracted by the Founding Parliament radical opposition movement since its 30 or so armed members seized the police station in Yerevan’s southern Erebuni district on July 17.
The protesters marched from a street section in Erebuni to the city center and then walked back to that location, chanting “Serzhik, go away!” and “Sasna Tsrer!” — the name of the armed group linked with Founding Parliament.
The march was organized by Founding Parliament and several other small opposition groups in protest against the Armenian authorities’ alleged refusal to provide more food to the gunmen holed up in the seized police compound.
Alek Yenigomshian, a Founding Parliament leader not involved in the armed attack, said the authorities stopped food supplies, cut off electricity to the compound and blocked mobile phone communication with them on Saturday after the gunmen released their four remaining hostages. He gave the authorities until Tuesday morning to allow opposition activists to deliver food to the armed oppositionists.
It was not clear what the protest leaders will do if their demand is rejected. Yenigomshian said only that they will again rally supporters on Tuesday evening.
“We are already winning,” Yenigomshian told the crowd visibly numbering between 2,000 and 3,000.