Rally near Armenia Defense Ministry HQ supports top military brass

Rally near Armenia Defense Ministry HQ supports top military brass

PanARMENIAN.Net - A considerable number of servicemen and civilians rallied on Saturday, March 6 in front of the Defense Ministry headquarters in Yerevan to support Chief of Army General Staff Onik Gasparyan, Para.tv reports.

Armenia is facing a serious political crisis after the country's top military brass demanded Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's resignation. The PM, claimed, however, that he had already dismissed the chief of the Army General Staff. On March 2, President Sarkissian decided to not sign the draft decree on Gasparyan's dismissal, but file an application with the Constitutional Court to determine whether the law "On Military Service and Status of Military Servant" from November 15, 2017 complies with the Armenian Constitution. The General Staff said Wednesday Gasparyan will hold his post until the application filed by the President is being processed by the Constitutional Court within eight days.

A clergyman attending the rally on Saturday blessed the demonstrators, after which a moment of silence was held to honor the memory of the victims of the 44-day war in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

The protesters then headed towards the residence of the President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian and demanded a meeting with him. Also participating in the rally was the Chairman of the Chamber of Lawyers, Ara Zohrabyan, who said that should the president try to avoid meeting them, the protesters will try to march to his place of residence.

The coalition of 17 opposition parties dubbed the Homeland Salvation Movement is rallying in the center of Yerevan too to demand Pashinyan's resignation.

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