By Karine Simonian
YEREVAN (Azatutyun) — An outspoken archbishop and his supporters began marching on Saturday, May 4, to Yerevan from a border village in the northern Tavush province that has been the epicenter of two-week protests against the Armenian government’s territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who has emerged as the top leader of the protests, said they are taking their campaign to the streets of the capital to try to scuttle the handover of border areas adjacent to the village of Kirants and nearby Tavush communities. Many local residents have been up in arms against it, citing grave security concerns.
“The Tavush for the Homeland movement has decided that the people must just go to Yerevan … to demand that this process be stopped here and elsewhere,” Galstanyan said in Kirants before staring at the 160-kilometer journey to Yerevan.
The decision was announced two days after police cracked down on Kirants protesters who tried to stop authorities from clearing an adjacent area of landmines and make other preparations for its handover to Azerbaijan. The police presence in and around the village remained strong after the crackdown.
Galstanyan, who heads the Tavush diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, said the protesters led by him planned to reach Yerevan on May 9. He gave no details of their actions planned there. His announcement drew statements of support from Yerevan-based opposition politicians and public figures who pledged to join the campaign.
