Epress.am News from Armenia
Three Heritage Party MPs — Armen Martirosyan, Zaruhi Postanjyan and Anahit Bakhshyan — were on the scene outside the Armenian government building today while a protest against the city’s ban on street trade was taking place. As previously reported (and as can be seen in the video), police were pushing, shoving and yelling at the MPs.
Joining the demonstration later was another Heritage Party MP, Styopa (Stepan) Safaryan, who tried to talk with police. An altercation took place between Safaryan and Yerevan Deputy Chief of Police Robert Melkonyan:
Melkonyan: You’re not called a deputy. I bemoan the place where you are a deputy.
Safaryan: I too bemoan the place where you’re a police officer. It’s very sad; it’ ok, we’ll deprive you of all titles.
Melkonyan: You’re very small [i.e. insignificant] to be depriving me of my titles.
Safaryan: You’ll see later whether I’m great or small. Small is the one who hits his wife.
Safaryan then expressed his intentions in meeting with the prime minister.
“Because this issue has to be resolved immediately. When my colleagues gather, we’ll decide, and I think an immediate meeting has to be called. He is simply obliged to accept and give an explanation for this outrageousness. Before his eyes, they trampled women and attacked MPs — all have to assume responsibility for this, starting from the prime minister,” Safaryan told journalists today.
Earlier, he entered the government building to meet with the prime minister.
Also on the scene was Pan-Armenian National Movement (HHSh) party leader Aram Manukyan, who likewise began to talk with police.