No foreign support for protest movement; authorities can use force -  expert  

ArmInfo. The protest movement that has unfolded in Armenia against the policies of the Armenian  authorities has distinctive features from all previous movements, political scientist Karen Igityan told ArmInfo.

According to him, we are talking, first of all, about uniting a huge  number of people who would not follow the so-called "former" ones,  but who united around a new personality in the person of Archbishop  Bagrat Galstanyan. In Armenian politics, according to Igityan, there  has long been a crisis of leadership, and the archbishop very  successfully filled this role, which allowed him to involve a huge  mass of people in the movement. Earlier, even before Bagrat  Galstanyan reached Yerevan, the political scientist recalled, there  was talk among the public that the number of participants did not  reflect popular support for the movement.  But when he began to  gather a huge number of people in the capital, it became clear that  the movement had prospects. It all started with a few hundred people,  after which 50-60 thousand people already gathered in the squares of  Yerevan. In this regard, Igityan continued, the archbishop achieved  success, accumulating a significant protest electorate.

"As for whether the movement will achieve its goal, namely, the  resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (a candidacy for this  position from the opposition has already been announced - the leader  of the movement himself has become the leader), then we must keep in  mind one circumstance caused by the lack of external support for the  actions protest, which allowed the authorities to fully use the  existing arsenal of force," Igityan said.

Moreover, the political scientist added, in this case there is active  support from the collective West for the policies of the current  government. After the recent visit to Yerevan of CIA Deputy Director  David Cohen, opposition to the actions of the opposition increased  sharply, as a result of which the security forces stopped paying  attention to who is standing in front of them - a woman or an old  man. "Against this background, the public quite rightly has questions  related to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law," the  political scientist emphasized.

Nevertheless, according to Igityan, the movement has the potential to  achieve its goal. "Today it becomes more than obvious that the  overwhelming majority of the population of Armenia does not support  Pashinyan, but this does not mean that everyone supports Bagrat  Galstanyan. Pashinyan today has the lowest rating for the entire time  he was in power, which does not exceed 20%. Accordingly, the  remaining 80% is a field in which the archbishop can work. If he  manages to consolidate this 80% of the protest electorate, then the  opportunities for success will be much higher," Igityan noted, adding  at the same time that this success is not guaranteed.

The "Tavush for the Motherland" movement, led by Archbishop Bagrat  Galstanyan, began a march on May 4 from the village of Kirants to  Yerevan demanding an end to unilateral territorial concessions to  Azerbaijan after the Armenian Foreign Ministry announced an agreement  with Baku to begin delimitation from the Tavush region. On May 9, a  rally of the movement was held on Republic Square in Yerevan, the  leader of which demanded the resignation of the prime minister and  also called for mass actions of civil disobedience. At a rally on May  26, the movement nominated Galstanyan for the post of prime minister.   Supporters of the movement held a rally on May 31 near the Foreign  Ministry building, and on June 3 at the Investigative Committee in  Yerevan.