Gold has once again been broken out amidst protests in Armenia against the country's government and its concessions to arch-enemy Azerbaijan.
At least 55 people were forced to seek hospital treatment after protests in the capital Yerevan on Wednesday, when several thousand demonstrators gathered. The police deployed distraction grenades against the demonstration, which took place outside parliament. Over 80 demonstrators have been arrested, according to the Home Office.
Armenia has been in military conflict with Azerbaijan, primarily over the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabach. After an Azerbaijani blitz offensive last autumn, Armenia was forced to completely abandon Nagorno-Karabach.
In May, the government agreed to hand over four abandoned border towns to Azerbaijan. According to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, it was a necessary evil for the country's security. However, the protests' figurehead, Bagrat Galstanjan – the Armenian Church's archbishop in Tavush – accuses the government of letting Armenia bleed to death through concessions to its neighbouring country.
