Armenian Opposition Rethinking Protest Tactics

She had arrived on June 8 for talks with government officials, politicians and civil society members. The officials included Justice Minister Karen Andreasyan and Deputy Foreign Minister Vahe Gevorgyan.

The US Embassy in Armenia said that during the two-day trip McDonald’s “underscored the US commitment to continue helping the Armenian people build a future based on shared democratic values.”

It emerged on Friday that she held a separate meeting with representatives of the two opposition alliances represented in the Armenian parliament.

Gegham Manukyan, an opposition parliamentarian, said they discussed a wide range of issues, including “shameful practices” in the Armenian judiciary and police actions against participants of continuing opposition rallies aimed at toppling Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. McDonald took note of concerns voiced by the oppositionists, he said.

The US Embassy did not comment on that meeting. The embassy posted on its Twitter page photographs of McDonald’s meetings with other individuals, including leaders of four parties not represented in the Armenian parliament.

The parliament’s two opposition factions criticized the US ambassador to Armenia, Lynne Tracy, last month after she seemed to hail the outcome of last year’s parliamentary elections won by Pashinyan’s party.

Saghatelyan accused the United States and other Western powers of turning a blind eye to government pressure on the judiciary, the existence of “dozens of political prisoners” and other human rights abuses. He also said Armenians did not give Pashinyan a mandate to “cede” Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan.