Rayhan Demytrie
Thousands of anti-government
protesters have rallied defiantly in the Armenian capital Yerevan after
riot police seized their leader.
Nikol Pashinyan was arrested after televised talks with Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan collapsed.
In a tense exchange, the opposition MP insisted the PM should quit and Mr Sargsyan accused him of "blackmail".
The opposition object to Mr Sargsyan clinging to power after serving two consecutive terms as president.
As
well as Mr Pashinyan, two other opposition politicians and some 200
demonstrators have been held, leaving the protest movement without
political leadership.
The EU, which has a partnership agreement with Armenia, called on all sides to "show restraint and act responsibly".
Protesters undeterred
Armenia's
biggest square is full of protesters. The detention of Mr Pashinyan and
other opposition leaders did not stop protesters from turning up. They
are holding placards that read "I am Nikol" and chanting his name, along
with another slogan, "Serzh go".
University student Elina
Isahanyan, wrapped in the Armenian flag, says she has been participating
in the protests for nine days.
"My friends and I are not attending classes. This is our way to show to this new government that we want change," she says.
"We are peaceful and we don't want any violence. We don't want the police to be against us."
Buses
loaded with police in flak jackets can be seen in the streets leading
up to the square. The justice ministry issued a warning reminding
citizens that the police have the right to disperse demonstrations
regardless of the nature of the protests.
Protests against Mr
Sargsyan have been held in other parts of Armenia - the second largest
city of Guymri and the city of Vanadzor.
How did Sunday's meeting fall apart?
Mr
Pashinyan was previously jailed over his part in protests against Mr
Sargsyan in 2008. He recently described the campaign he leads as a
"velvet revolution", referring to the peaceful protests in 1989 that
ended communist rule in Czechoslovakia.
He met Mr Sargsyan at a hotel in Yerevan on Sunday morning, in the presence of dozens of journalists.
The
exchange was brief. After the prime minister said he was glad his rival
had "responded to my numerous appeals to negotiate", Mr Pashinyan
struck an uncompromising note.
"I think there is a misunderstanding," he said. "I
have come here to discuss the terms of your resignation and the terms of
a peaceful and smooth transition of power."
Mr Sargsyan said that "this is not a dialogue, this is blackmail" and left.
Addressing the assembled reporters afterwards, Mr
Pashinyan called on his supporters to continue their protests, which
have continued for more than a week.
He was detained shortly afterwards, as riot police using stun grenades dispersed protesters.
His supporters then gathered outside a police
station where they believed he was being held before they set off
towards the capital's central Republic Square.
Why is there such anger at Serzh Sargsyan?
He has been accused of failing to address continuing tensions with Azerbaijan and Turkey, as well as widespread poverty at home.
His government has also been criticised by the opposition for its close ties to Russia, whose leader Vladimir Putin also moved between the positions of president and prime minister to maintain his grip on power.
While
he was president, the country shifted from a presidential system to a
parliamentary republic, vesting real power in the office of the prime
minister.
He stood for prime minister despite promising he would not.
His supporters argue that the tough veteran of the
Nagorno-Karabakh war with Azerbaijan in the late 1980s has provided the
national security Armenia needs.
What dangers lie ahead?
Serzh
Sargsyan, who served as president from 2008 until this year, has been
left largely unchallenged for years because of a lack of clear rivals
and alternatives, Armenian affairs analyst Richard Giragosian tells BBC News.
"Pashinyan was the exception with his unique
combination of charisma with a good sense of street politics, which only
makes this current confrontation more serious." he says.
The
power of the ruling Republican Party is potentially even more dangerous
as it "undermines the necessity for consensus and compromise".
"The
real question now is what lies ahead. After such polarisation and
dissent, the launch of parliamentary politics seems destined to fail,
undermined by an inherent lack of trust or public confidence."
However
the crisis plays out, "there is little or no foreign policy dimension",
he adds. "It is not about Russia and not about Europe. It is local
politics and economics."
The small landlocked country saw an economic recovery last year, the World Bank reports.
However,
it is vulnerable to developments in Russia, its biggest trading partner
after the EU and a major destination for its migrant workers.
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