Opposition MP critical of police over "efforts for bonuses"

ArmInfo. An action of civil disobedience started early today in the center of Yerevan. Activists  and supporters of the Tavush for the Motherland movement began to block the streets with garbage cans and street benches, and the police indiscriminately detained citizens.

In addition to the central streets of the capital, the intersection  of Komitas Avenue and Gulbenkian Street was blocked. A warning  campaign was also held in the metro. At the Barekamutyun metro  station, young supporters of the movement chanted: "Armenian,  Armenia, Motherland and God."

At the same time, the police began arresting people. As the march  participants stated, the police detained everyone indiscriminately,  even minors.

One of the leaders of the "Tavush for the Name of the Motherland"  movement, deputy from the "Hayastan" bloc Garnik Danielyan, in a  conversation with journalists, he noted that police officers hit a  cameraman of one of the media, as a result of which the video camera  was damaged.

"Did this happen in 2018? They were given the task of terrorizing  people on the streets, terrorizing journalists. I heard that the  police were promised bonuses for such actions. It's not worth it to  give all your best for the sake of money, and in front of the  cameras, so that the boss can see their efforts," Danielyan noted.

The deputy recalled that when citizens block streets, the police are  obliged to provide a reasonable period of time for citizens to open  the road, they are also obliged to talk to citizens and behave  civilly.

The day before, the head of the Tavush diocese of the Armenian  Apostolic Church and the leader of the "Tavush in the name of the  Motherland" movement, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, during a rally in  Yerevan, announced mass actions of disobedience from 08:00 Monday. He  also noted that in the morning he himself would visit creative  unions: the Writers' Union, the Artists' Union, the National Academy  of Sciences, the Institute of History, etc. The Archbishop called on  those wishing to support to come, register and begin volunteer work.

Galstanyan noted that no rallies will be held in the coming days, and  the reason is not the number of participants. "Many people have  joined us these days. I am sure that when our plans become concrete  regarding the no-confidence vote process and the candidate for prime  minister, there will be several hundred thousand of us here," he  said. At the end of each day we will gather in the courtyard of St.  Anne's Church to sum up the day and discuss the next day's steps,  Galstanyan added.