The symbolic march is the first in which the clergy is playing a key role: Kommersant on Tavush protests

The participants of the protest march from Tavush Province to Yerevan are against the cession of territories to Azerbaijan. The march is led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan, the primate of the Diocese of Tavush of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Kommersant wrote this in an article, noting that the march participants expect to reach Yerevan on May 9, which is symbolic.

In May 2018, Nikol Pashinyan, the incumbent prime minister of Armenia, assumed power in Armenia, marching from provinces to the capital.

Residents of Kirants and Voskepar villages, as well as a number of other settlements, fear that their homes may end up in the territory of Azerbaijan as a result of the border delimitation process. In general, they are against such concessions. From the very beginning of the protests, the clergy actively supported the demonstrators. Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan has become the most active representative of the Armenian clergy in the protests.

As noted in the article, Archbishop Bagrat can be called the face of the Tavush protests and the leader of the protesters, now calling themselves the Tavush for the Homeland movement.

“The Opposition also couldn’t help but take advantage of the situation,” the newspaper says, noting that these are the first demonstrations in which the clergy is playing a key role.