YEREVAN. June 13 (Interfax) - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has accused Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II and former Armenian President Robert Kocharyan of organizing an attack by protesters on police officers near the parliament building on Wednesday.
"The movement led by the Catholicos and Robert Kocharyan attacked the police yesterday. The police response was lawful and professional. The police will act likewise in similar situations. Yesterday, the police prevented an attack on the parliament and protected Armenia's statehood," Pashinyan said at the Armenian parliament on Thursday.
Eighteen police officers and 89 citizens were hurt in the clash, and 16 people were hospitalized, he said.
"The organizers and provocateurs must be held responsible. You cannot build a state and a legal system on pity. Our administration is not and will not be weak. We will take every measure necessary within the framework of the law and legitimacy to protect our statehood and sovereignty," Pashinyan said.
As reported, nearly 100 protesters have been detained, and almost 80 people were injured during the protest near the parliament building demanding Pashinyan's resignation.
The police used stun grenades against the protesters who gathered near the parliament building when Pashinyan was taking part in the Government Hour.
Protest leader, Armenian Apostolic Church Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan said at the rally near the parliament their "task is very simple - Pashinyan must resign." "We will not move an inch," he said.
On May 4, Archbishop Galstanyan, blessed by Catholicos of all Armenians Karekin II, announced a protest in Yerevan against the Armenian government's policy on border delimitation with Azerbaijan and demanded Pashinyan's resignation.
On May 26, an opposition rally in central Yerevan nominated Galstanyan for prime minister. The archbishop said he had asked the Catholicos to freeze his church service.