“What are you protecting yourselves from using police barricades and forces?” activist Vardges Gaspari asked government officials. He wrote this question on a poster that he was holding while lying down yesterday. According to Gaspari, he is setting a reminder through his protest that Armenia must not forget about democracy. “What is so dangerous about the protesters that police forces and troops are being sent out? What are the protesters going to do to you? We don’t have the right to deviate from democracy. They need to be open to the citizens. I don’t believe that the citizens intended to use force, so there was no need for police.”
Gaspari believes that the government will have an open discussion with environmental activists. “I don’t have any opinion on Amulsar personally. After reading all of the arguments for and against using it as a mine, I have not come to any conclusion and whatever decision the government makes will be acceptable for me. I am here to defend democracy and human rights.”
