YEREVAN -- Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian has called on his supporters to stage nonstop street protests to force the ouster of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's government over its territorial concessions to Azerbaijan.
Addressing thousands who gathered for another rally in central Yerevan on June 9, Galstanian said street protests in the Armenian capital would commence on June 10 and will last for four days -- during which he urged the National Assembly to convene a special session on the government's resignation and the formation of a new government.
The outspoken head of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church said that nonstop street protests were needed to "impose our will."
"I am ready for that. There is no way to retreat or deviate from it," he declared. "Now is the time. Either it is now or never. Falsehood must be eliminated from our home."
SEE ALSO: Bagrat Galstanian: The Armenian Archbishop Taking On The GovernmentGalstanian stressed that the movement's demand remained the resignation of the Pashinian government, but he did not rule out discussions on "all possible options of political solutions."
Galstanian did not clarify whether he meant a no-confidence vote in Pashinian when he spoke about a special meeting of parliament on the government's resignation.
Earlier, he claimed to have enlisted the support of two opposition factions to initiate such a process.
Pashinian, whose Civil Contract party has a two-thirds majority in parliament, has rejected the opposition demand for his resignation over a recent border deal with Azerbaijan that saw Armenia hand over four abandoned villages that used to be part of Soviet Azerbaijan but have been controlled by Armenia since the first Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the early 1990s.
Pashinian allies in parliament have also ruled out that any of them would break ranks to support the protest leader's bid to have a vote of no-confidence initiated by the opposition.
Under Armenia's constitution, at least one-third of lawmakers can initiate a no-confidence vote against the prime minister in parliament, provided they also name a candidate who will replace him or her.
Earlier, Hayastan and Pativ Unem -- opposition factions in parliament associated with the former presidents of Armenia, Robert Kocharian and Serzh Sarkisian -- said they would support the bid.
They will need the support of the only nonaligned lawmaker to initiate the process, which, in order to succeed, will require a majority vote in the legislature dominated by Civil Contract.
At the same time, the no-confidence motion requires the name of a candidate for prime minister. Galstanian has said he would be that candidate.
The Armenian Constitution bars dual citizens from serving as prime minister. Galstanian, who is a dual citizen of Armenia and Canada, said he would not violate the constitution but did not explain how he was going to surmount that legal obstacle.
Earlier, his supporters did not rule out that it would have to require an amendment to the constitution.
The current anti-government movement began in the northeastern province of Tavush in April as Armenia and Azerbaijan began the demarcation process of their heavily militarized border following an agreement announced by Yerevan and Baku on April 19.
The demarcation, which was formally completed on May 15, alters the boundary in a way that affects the infrastructure of a number of Armenian border villages, which the Armenian government has pledged to fix within weeks.
Local populations have expressed fears of possible further Azerbaijani attacks after the Armenian military withdrawal from their positions held for over three decades.
But the Pashinian government insists that having a demarcated border in itself is an assurance against further conflict.