Police in Armenia have detained an opposition MP who has been leading anti-government protests, sparking angry scenes.

Nikol Pashinyan was picked up after Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan cut short a televised meeting between the two. </s> Armenia's political turmoil deepened on Sunday with the detention of anti-government protest leader Nikol Pashinyan, shortly after Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan stormed out of talks with him on the tenth day of mass rallies against his rule.

Pashinyan and two other opposition politicians "were detained as they were committing socially dangerous acts", the prosecutor general's office said in a statement.

Armenian police earlier denied opposition MP Sasun Mikaelyan's report that Pashinyan had been arrested.

As a lawmaker, Pashinyan is protected by parliamentary immunity and cannot be arrested without the approval of fellow MPs.

On Sunday morning, Sargsyan stormed out of talks with Pashinyan, accusing him of "blackmail".

The televised meeting between the premier and Pashinyan lasted only a couple of minutes before the premier walked out.

"I came here to discuss your resignation," Pashinyan, the leader of the opposition Civil Contract party, had told the prime minister in front of the cameras.

"This is not a dialogue, this is blackmail, I only can advise you to return to a legal framework... Otherwise you will bear the responsibility" for the consequences, replied Sargsyan, a former military officer.

"You don't understand the situation in Armenia. The power is now in people's hands," Pashinyan hit back.

Sargsyan said the Civil Contract party "can't speak on behalf of the people", having scored only 8 percent in recent parliamentary election, before he walked out of the meeting room in Yerevan's Marriott hotel.

Pashinyan then vowed to "step up pressure" on Sargsyan to force him to resign and called on police officers to "lay down arms and join in the protests".

Bu instead security forces intervened using stun grenades and began dispersing the crowd in Yerevan's suburban Erebuni district.

The EU delegation to Armenia issued a statement expressing "concern" over the rapidly unfolding crisis.

"The European Union reiterates that it is crucial that all parties show restraint and responsibility and urgently seek a negotiated solution," the statement said.

Tens of thousands of people had flocked to central Yerevan's Republic Square on Saturday to protest against Sargsyan's rule.

Armenian President Armen Sarkisian, who succeeded Sargsyan, met Pashinyan at the square and two men had a brief consversation.

Armenian authorities said Saturday more than 70 people have been arrested, including two people suspected of building bombs.

The national security service said two people with opposition connections were arrested for preparing bombings in public places.

In the evening, about 50,000 demonstrators gathered in the capital's central Republic Square.

Opposition supporters have criticized the 63-year-old leader over poverty, corruption and the influence of powerful oligarchs.

After Pashinyan's detention, thousands of protesters gathered in Yerevan's Republic Square outside the government's headquarters, which were cordoned off by riot police.

Dozens of people were detained, an AFP journalist reported from the scene.

Pashinyan had earlier announced the "start of a peaceful velvet revolution" in the landlocked South Caucasus nation of 2.9 million people.

He called for a nationwide campaign of "civil disobedience," urging civil servants "to stop obeying Sargsyan".

Under a new parliamentary system of government, lawmakers elected Sargsyan as prime minister last week.

Constitutional amendments approved in 2015 have transferred power from the presidency to the premiership.

After Sargsyan was first elected in 2008, 10 people died and hundreds were injured in post-election clashes between police and supporters of the defeated opposition candidate. </s> Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption There were scuffles as Nikol Pashinyan was detained

Thousands of anti-government protesters have rallied defiantly in the Armenian capital Yerevan after riot police seized their leader.

Nikol Pashinyan was arrested after televised talks with Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan collapsed.

In a tense exchange, the opposition MP insisted the PM should quit and Mr Sargsyan accused him of "blackmail".

The opposition object to Mr Sargsyan clinging to power after serving two consecutive terms as president.

He was elected to the post by parliament on Tuesday, fuelling anger on the streets.

As well as Mr Pashinyan, two other opposition politicians and some 200 demonstrators have been held, leaving the protest movement without political leadership.

The EU, which has a partnership agreement with Armenia, called on all sides to "show restraint and act responsibly".

Armenia country profile

Protesters undeterred

By Rayhan Demytrie, BBC News, in Armenia's capital Yerevan

Armenia's biggest square is full of protesters. The detention of Mr Pashinyan and other opposition leaders did not stop protesters from turning up. They are holding placards that read "I am Nikol" and chanting his name, along with another slogan, "Serzh go".

University student Elina Isahanyan, wrapped in the Armenian flag, says she has been participating in the protests for nine days.

"My friends and I are not attending classes. This is our way to show to this new government that we want change," she says.

"We are peaceful and we don't want any violence. We don't want the police to be against us."

Buses loaded with police in flak jackets can be seen in the streets leading up to the square. The justice ministry issued a warning reminding citizens that the police have the right to disperse demonstrations regardless of the nature of the protests.

Protests against Mr Sargsyan have been held in other parts of Armenia - the second largest city of Guymri and the city of Vanadzor.

How did Sunday's meeting fall apart?

Mr Pashinyan was previously jailed over his part in protests against Mr Sargsyan in 2008. He recently described the campaign he leads as a "velvet revolution", referring to the peaceful protests in 1989 that ended communist rule in Czechoslovakia.

He met Mr Sargsyan at a hotel in Yerevan on Sunday morning, in the presence of dozens of journalists.

The exchange was brief. After the prime minister said he was glad his rival had "responded to my numerous appeals to negotiate", Mr Pashinyan struck an uncompromising note.

Image copyright AFP Image caption PM Serzh Sargsyan denounced Mr Pashinyan's "blackmail" before aborting their meeting

"I think there is a misunderstanding," he said. "I have come here to discuss the terms of your resignation and the terms of a peaceful and smooth transition of power."

Mr Sargsyan said that "this is not a dialogue, this is blackmail" and left.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Scuffles broke out between police and protesters on Sunday

Addressing the assembled reporters afterwards, Mr Pashinyan called on his supporters to continue their protests, which have continued for more than a week.

He was detained shortly afterwards, as riot police using stun grenades dispersed protesters.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Masked police have been holding back the crowds

His supporters then gathered outside a police station where they believed he was being held before they set off towards the capital's central Republic Square.

Why is there such anger at Serzh Sargsyan?

He has been accused of failing to address continuing tensions with Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as widespread poverty at home.

His government has also been criticised by the opposition for its close ties to Russia, whose leader Vladimir Putin also moved between the positions of president and prime minister to maintain his grip on power.

While he was president, the country shifted from a presidential system to a parliamentary republic, vesting real power in the office of the prime minister.

He stood for prime minister despite promising he would not.

Image copyright AFP Image caption Here Serzh Sargsyan's face is scored out on a poster

His supporters argue that the tough veteran of the Nagorno-Karabakh war with Azerbaijan in the late 1980s has provided the national security Armenia needs.

What dangers lie ahead?

Serzh Sargsyan, who served as president from 2008 until this year, has been left largely unchallenged for years because of a lack of clear rivals and alternatives, Armenian affairs analyst Richard Giragosian tells BBC News.

"Pashinyan was the exception with his unique combination of charisma with a good sense of street politics, which only makes this current confrontation more serious." he says.

The power of the ruling Republican Party is potentially even more dangerous as it "undermines the necessity for consensus and compromise".

"The real question now is what lies ahead. After such polarisation and dissent, the launch of parliamentary politics seems destined to fail, undermined by an inherent lack of trust or public confidence."

However the crisis plays out, "there is little or no foreign policy dimension", he adds. "It is not about Russia and not about Europe. It is local politics and economics."

The Republic of Armenia Capital: Yerevan Population 3.1m

Area 29,743 sq km (11,484 sq miles)

Major languages Armenian, Russian

Major religion Christianity

Life expectancy 71 years (men), 77 years (women)

Main exports Diamonds, machinery, foodstuffs

The small landlocked country saw an economic recovery last year, the World Bank reports.

However, it is vulnerable to developments in Russia, its biggest trading partner after the EU and a major destination for its migrant workers. </s> Armenia's prime minister and ex-president Serzh Sargsyan walked out of a televised meeting Sunday with anti-government protest leader Nikol Pashinyan shortly after it began, denouncing the opposition's "blackmail".

"I came here to discuss your resignation," Pashinyan, the leader of the opposition Civil Contract party, had told the prime minister in front of the cameras.

"This is not a dialogue, this is blackmail, I only can advise you to return to a legal framework... otherwise you will bear the responsibility," Sargsyan replied.

"You don't understand the situation in Armenia. The power is now in people's hands," said Pashinyan.

"A party that scored eight percent in (parliamentary) elections can't speak on behalf of the people," Sargsyan said before walking out of the meeting room in Yerevan's Marriott hotel.

Pashinyan then vowed to "step up pressure" on Sargsyan to force him to resign.

Heeding a call from Pashinyan, protesters had held rallies over the last 10 days to denounce Sargsyan's shift to a premier's post after a decade serving as president.

Tens of thousands of people flocked to central Yerevan's Republic Square on Saturday to protest against Sargsyan's rule.

Armenian President Armen Sarkisian, who succeeded Sargsyan, met Pashinyan at the square and two men had a brief consversation.

Armenian authorities said Saturday more than 70 people have been arrested, including two people suspected of building bombs.

The national security service said two people with opposition connections were arrested for preparing bombings in public places.

In the evening, about 50,000 demonstrators gathered in the capital's central Republic Square.

Opposition supporters have criticized the 63-year-old leader over poverty, corruption and the influence of powerful oligarchs.

A former military officer, Sargsyan has been in charge of the landlocked South Caucasus nation of 2.9 million people for a decade.

Under a new parliamentary system of government, lawmakers elected him as prime minister last week.

Constitutional amendments approved in 2015 have transferred power from the presidency to the premier.

After he was first elected in 2008, 10 people died and hundreds were injured in bloody clashes between police and supporters of the defeated opposition candidate. </s> Members of Parliament Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Sasun Mikayelyan have been detained, the Special Investigative Committee of Armenia reports.

The Committee said the lawmakers had been leading protests in Yerevan accompanied by violations of the Law on the freedom of Assembly and without notifying the authorized bodies.

The Committee said they blocked the buildings close to the sites of the protests and failed to take necessary measures to ensure the normal course of the rally and inform its participants about the Police demands.

Furthermore, the Investigative Committee said, Nikol Pashinyan, Ararat Mirzoyan and Sasun Mikayelyan periodically urged the participants of the rally to block the streets in Yerevan, entered buildings under special protection and disrupted their activity.

The Speaker of the National Assembly has been notified about the detention.

Nikol Pashinyan was picked up after Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan cut short a televised meeting between the two. </s> Exactly a month ago, Nikol Pashinyan was walking from village to village across Armenia in a desperate protest against a power grab by the country’s prime minister, Serzh Sargsyan.

On Tuesday Pashinyan, a fiery political orator who has spent the past decade in street politics, was himself elected as prime minister in a 59-42 vote in parliament, capping weeks of peaceful mass protests.

It has been an unlikely rise to power in the post-Soviet republic of about 3 million. Before April, the ruling Republican party’s stranglehold on Armenian politics had appeared intact, with Sargsyan newly installed as prime minister after term limits forced him to step down as president after 10 years.

But governance changes that in tandem bolstered the prime minister’s office led to accusations that Sargsyan had manipulated the constitution to cling to power. Pashinyan and other activists brought out tens of thousands of people on to the streets for protests that paralysed the capital, Yerevan.

Sargsyan resigned on 23 April in a stunning concession to the opposition. Pashinyan, who had been detained and then released from jail during the protests, called for snap elections to choose a new “people’s prime minister”.

Supporters say Pashinyan, a former newspaper editor who was also imprisoned after opposition rallies in 2008 turned deadly, is among history’s great peaceful revolutionaries. “You can absolutely compare him with historical figures like Gandhi and Nelson Mandela,” said Eduard Aghajanyan, a city council member from Pashinyan’s Civil Contract party, and one of Pashinyan’s young, western-educated advisers.

It has been a dangerous road for Pashinyan. He was expelled from university in 1995 for his political activities, and faced libel charges as the editor-in-chief of Haykakan Zhamanak in 2000. His car was blown up in an apparent assassination attempt in 2004, and in 2008 he spent months in hiding after being accused of instigating political protests that ended with 10 people dead. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2010 but was released the following year under an amnesty.

He has publicly fallen out with other opposition leaders such as the former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan. In private, detractors say Pashinyan is a novice when it comes to working in government and unwilling to compromise. He entered parliament in 2016 as a member of a coalition of opposition parties.



“The main question is whether Nikol Pashinyan the revolutionary can become Nikol Pashinyan the prime minister,” said Emil Danielyan, a journalist and political analyst in Yerevan.

He has a flair for the theatrical. Last month Pashinyan told Sargsyan in face-to-face discussions that he had “come to discuss your resignation”. Sargsyan called the demand “political blackmail” and walked out of negotiations.

Pashinyan has however shown a deft political touch over the past month, running a gauntlet of thorny political questions including whether Armenia should maintain close ties with Russia and whether there should be a purge of former ruling party officials and a criminal trial into the deaths of protesters in 2008.

In an interview with the Guardian during the protests, Pashinyan said dark political forces had been trying to derail Armenia’s peaceful revolution. His aides said Karen Karapetyan, the prime minister from September 2016 until last month, and who is close to Russia, had sought backroom deals to derail a vote last week for Pashinyan to become PM, which he lost.

“Some forces are trying to engage us into political bargaining and propose me to become prime minister but ensure and guarantee the continuation of the existing system,” Pashinyan said. “And for me, my goal isn’t to become prime minister. My goal is bring real changes to Armenia.”

He spoke of plans to further open Armenia to foreign business and break the control over certain industries held by businessmen close to the previous regime. 



Still, he and his supporters have largely skirted policy discussions in favour of rallying cries for reform in the poor country of about 3 million people, which borders Turkey and Iran and is locked in a simmering territorial conflict with another neighbour, Azerbaijan.

There is a touch of the populist in Pashinyan – he has donned a camouflage T-shirt for some speeches, but returned to a suit for negotiations with other parties. “He is not a populist. He is popular,” said Ararat Mirzoyan, a fellow member of Civil Contract, who was arrested with Pashinyan last month.

Mirzoyan said he had seen Pashinyan grow as a leader in recent years as the two worked together in parliament. Asked about the party’s specific policies, he said: “Only once we achieve fundamental reforms can we begin talking about the changes for the future sector by sector.” </s> The leader of major political protests that have gripped the Armenian capital for more than a week has been arrested, and the streets of Yerevan are echoing with the blare of car horns in a new technique for expressing opposition.

The protests that began on April 13 center on the appointment of former President Serzh Sargsyan as prime minister, part of Armenia's transition to a governmental system that reduces the powers of the presidency and bolsters the premier's. Critics say the change effectively allows Sargsyan to lead the country for life.

Sargsyan and protest leader Nikola Pashinian met Sunday morning for brief televised talks, but Sargsyan walked out after Pashinian made it clear he would only discuss Sargsyan's resignation.

Pashinian was arrested later in the day. </s> YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - The leader of major political protests that have gripped the Armenian capital for more than a week has been arrested, and the streets of Yerevan are echoing with the blare of car horns in a new technique for expressing opposition.

The protests that began on April 13 center on the appointment of former President Serzh Sargsyan as prime minister, part of Armenia's transition to a governmental system that reduces the powers of the presidency and bolsters the premier's. Critics say the change effectively allows Sargsyan to lead the country for life.

Sargsyan and protest leader Nikola Pashinian met Sunday morning for brief televised talks, but Sargsyan walked out after Pashinian made it clear he would only discuss Sargsyan's resignation.

Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, left, speaks with protest leader Nikol Pashinian during their meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, April 22, 2018. Thousands of demonstrators on Saturday closed off streets in Yerevan during a march pressing demands for the prime minister to resign. Sargsyan was named premier this week as Armenia transitioned to a new system of government that reduces the presidency's power and bolsters the prime minister role. (Hrant Khachatryan/PAN Photo via AP)

Pashinian was arrested later in the day.

Former Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, left, gestures as he leaves a meeting with protest leader Nikol Pashinian, right, in Yerevan, Armenia, Sunday, April 22, 2018. Thousands of demonstrators on Saturday closed off streets in Yerevan during a march pressing demands for the prime minister to resign. Sargsyan was named premier this week as Armenia transitioned to a new system of government that reduces the presidency's power and bolsters the prime minister role. (Hrant Khachatryan/PAN Photo via AP) </s> This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

For 11 days, the opposition pressure mounted against Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia’s most powerful politician. But few expected he would go so quietly.



Sargsyan, the country’s prime minister and former president for a decade, resigned suddenly on Monday in a stunning concession to the country’s opposition, which had filled the former Soviet republic’s main square with tens of thousands of demonstrators demanding his exit.

Facing a renewed wave of thousands of demonstrators, including deserting soldiers, Sargsyan issued a stark mea culpa on Monday. “I was wrong,” he said in a statement on his government’s website. And he resigned.



Residents of the capital, Yerevan, poured out on the streets to celebrate. “The street movement is against my tenure. I am fulfilling your demand,” his statement said.

Hundreds of uniformed soldiers had joined anti-government demonstrators earlier on Monday in the 11th consecutive day of protests.

The demonstrations were sparked by Sargsyan’s decision to take on the post of prime minister after serving for more than a decade as the country’s president, provoking anger among opposition parties and other protest groups.

The decision came as his second term as president came to an end, and shortly after the constitution was amended to give more power to the prime minister and transform the presidency into a ceremonial role.

The triumph for the protest movement sent shockwaves through the region on Monday, but appeared unlikely to garner intervention.

Russia, a powerful regional actor which has tried to avert revolutions in neighbouring states in the past, appeared to accept Sargsyan’s resignation. The Kremlin said it would not involve itself in the country’s internal politics.

Prior to Sargsyan’s resignation, and apparently yielding to opposition pressure, police released Nikol Pashinyan, a protest leader and opposition MP who had been arrested alongside hundreds of demonstrators on Sunday. Until his release, Pashinyan’s whereabouts had been unknown.

“Nikol! Nikol!” chanted protesters draped in Armenian flags as they marched in Yerevan. Tens of thousands of protesters had gathered in the city’s Republic Square at the weekend in one of the country’s largest demonstrations in years.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Serzh Sargsyan in Warsaw in July 2016. Photograph: Jacek Turczyk/EPA

“This is the last time I will speak to you as the head of the government,” Sargsyan said in an extraordinary statement. “Nikol Pashinyan was right. I was wrong.”

Sargsyan’s attempted move to the prime minister’s office earned comparisons to the return of Vladimir Putin to the presidency in 2012, after spending four years as Russia’s prime minister. Putin too faced opposition demonstrations, but managed to survive them.

In Armenia, the outrage over Sargsyan’s return gained a foothold, with political opponents uniting with civil activists to maintain pressure on the government.

On the 10th day of protests, they coaxed Sargsyan into negotiations with the opposition at a hotel in Yerevan. “I came here to discuss your resignation,” Pashinyan told Sargsyan shortly before negotiations broke down on Sunday. Pashinyan was arrested shortly afterwards.

On Monday striking students, defying threats from police to stay away, blocked streets in Yerevan, with dozens of soldiers joining demonstrators, according to videos posted on social media. The soldiers appeared to be unarmed.

The defence ministry warned earlier on Monday that the soldiers, who it said were members of a unit deployed as peacekeepers, would be punished harshly for participating in the protests.

After hundreds of arrests on Sunday it appeared that Armenia’s protests could end in a bloody crackdown. But by Monday afternoon, Sargsyan’s resolve appeared to have collapsed. Pashinyan was released in the early afternoon and Sargsyan’s resignation statement came hours later.

“The situation that has been created has a few solutions, but I am not part of any of them,” Sargsyan said. “I will leave my post as the country’s prime minister.” It was an admission of guilt so frank, it seemed out of place in modern politics.

The defence minister warned that Armenia’s foe Azerbaijan was benefiting from the unrest. “The enemy is looking at events in our country. Instability inside our country opens a road for them to take action. We need to tell society about this,” Vigen Sarkisian said. He said the army could only become involved if a state of emergency was declared, which he hoped would not happen “for years to come”.

A shrewd former military officer, Sargsyan was first elected as president of the impoverished Moscow-allied country in 2008. After that poll, 10 people died in clashes between police and supporters of the defeated opposition candidate. He was re-elected in 2013, with his second and final term ending on 9 April.
Protest leader Nikol Pashinyan is detained by police shortly after a televised meeting with Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan who stormed out after three minutes, claiming he was being blackmailed to resign.