Where Were You When the Police Officer Was Kicking the Citizen? - Naira Zohrabyan

When my friends and I formed a human shield between the police and the protesters at the Opera, where were the human rights activists? This was written by Naira Zohrabyan, a member of the Prosperous Armenia faction, on her Facebook page.

She specifically stated:

“Yesterday, when the tension in the Opera area reached terrifying levels and my friends and I became a human shield between the protesters and the police, surprisingly, I did not see any civil activist in that area, someone who in the past would come and lie on the asphalt to prevent any unlawful use of force against a citizen. A couple that were there were observing from a distance and blaming the protesters. Where were you when the police officer was kicking the citizen, and fortunately today, the powers of that police officer have been suspended by the order of the police chief?”

“We were not there as arbitrators to decide who is right - the municipality or the protesters. We were there to prevent clashes so that more dangerous developments would not occur. And surprisingly, there was no one among the former activists, some of whom are now in parliament, and others, I don’t know where. There should not have been a ‘side’ deciding who is right - the municipality or the people, not the cafe owners, but ordinary people who were fighting to not lose their jobs. All that was needed yesterday was to be between the police and the protesters to prevent the clash.”