We condemn the extremely unacceptable, brutal actions against the relatives of the victims and demand

On September 21, 2022, on the morning of the Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia, in the Yerablur military pantheon, ahead of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s visit, the police officers, using force, detained the relatives of the fallen servicemen, who initially behaved peacefully and lawfully. The “Coalition to Stop Violence against Women” made condemning statements on the occasion of the incident, then 35 Armenian non-governmental organizations announced that they demand the dismissal of RA Police Chief Vahe Ghazaryan.

Statement condemning the Coalition Against Violence Against Women:

Today, on the day of Armenia’s independence, in the “Yerablur” military pantheon, ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the police with brutal manifestations of violence detained the parents of those who died in the 44-day war, most of whom were mothers in black. Moreover, the violent actions of the police were accompanied by obscene scenes of dragging women by their legs and hands, and some of them also received physical injuries.

This is not the first time that the police use force against mothers in black. Often mothers with children were subjected to violence for organizing actions in front of state buildings. However, this time they were forcibly removed from the area of ​​their sons’ graves so that those in power could visit “Yerablur”.

Today, when large-scale violence is taking place at the borders of the country and new graves are being added to the pantheon, mothers who are already under great stress and anxiety are being attacked by the police.

The Coalition Against Violence Against Women strongly condemns these extremely unacceptable, brutal acts and demands:

• From the RA National Assembly – to take a position condemning and excluding these acts of violence.
• From the RA Police – to exclude any display of force, humiliation and violence towards bereaved mothers and relatives.
• From the Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Armenia – to be consistent in collecting facts about the violence committed by the police in the “Yerablur” military pantheon, which were captured by cameras and spread on the Internet, and in the direction of initiating criminal cases.

The Independence Day of the Republic of Armenia is a day of rejection of violence, and not of demonstration. We reaffirm our commitment to do everything to build a country without violence.

Coalition to Stop Violence Against Women

Full text in Armenian