YEREVAN (OC-Media) — The Holy Struggle movement, formerly known as Tavush for the Motherland, has held its first rally in months — this time demanding airtime on Armenia’s public broadcaster to announce the resumption of their protests.
On the evening of October 2, Holy Struggle hosted a rally in Yerevan’s Republic Square, which, according to calculations by local civil society organizations, was attended by around 1,900 people.
Holy Struggle, formerly the Tavush for the Motherland movement, was founded in protest against the border delimitation with Azerbaijan, which began in Tavush, a province located on the border, in April. The movement gradually grew into a series of anti-government protests demanding Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s resignation. The demonstrations were attended by thousands of people, an unprecedented number since the 2018 revolution.
Their new name, Holy Struggle (Srbazan Paykar) features a play on words, with “srbazan” being the traditional way by which to address an archbishop, such as the movement’s leader. It also refers to the movement’s so-called “holy” goal to save Armenia.
Wednesday’s rally was the first led by the movement since June. That month, more than 100 people, including several police officers, were injured outside the parliament building in Yerevan after police deployed stun grenades to quash the protests. Following this, the movement seemed to gradually become less active.