During negotiations between police officers and environmentalists in Mashtots Park today, when the number of activists started to increase, a lieutenant of the patrol police demanded a special permission, saying that they were more than 100 people already. The organizer of the protest observed, “You are more than the protest participants, you have brought 100 policemen against 15 kids, are you organizing the Circle operation?” The police officer responded to that, “If you sense our number, if you sense that we are more, it is for your own security. You know why? In case we use physical force against each other. That is the reason why we are so many.”
It turns out that police officers have been ordered to treat activists civilly, but as always it turned into a scuffle, violence and a scrap, even against women.
Read also
A police officer was constantly convincing activists to go home then and afterwards choose time and place and discuss the issue in a civilized manner. “We are not going on a date and we are not going to drink coffee,” a participant of the conversation said in response.
Let us mention that negotiations continue between the environmentalists and the police at the moment.
According to Gagik Shamshyan, Police Major General Nerses Nazaryan, the chief of the Yerevan police, and Sargis Martirosyan, the chief of the Kentron police station, came to the park and had a meeting with the activists. They also assured that the construction work was legal and police officers were preserving public order.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
