Demonstrators led by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanian scuffled with riot police in Yerevan on May 31 as they rallied in the Armenian capital to demand Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian's resignation.
One day after trying to surround the seat of Pashinian's government, the protesters marched to the nearby building of the Armenian Foreign Ministry to demand a meeting with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
Galstanian said Mirzoyan or other senior ministry officials must explain what he described as their failure to respond to "humiliating" anti-Armenian statements made by Azerbaijan's leaders.
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Armenian Police Detain Protesters Demanding PM Pashinian's Resignation
The top diplomats refused to receive Galstanian and opposition lawmakers accompanying him, leading Galstanian to demand that the police let him into the building to "get the answers" himself.
"Either they will come out or we will go in," he told hundreds of supporters at the main entrance to the building, guarded by a comparable number of police.
After repeatedly threatening to use force during a four-hour standoff with the protesters, security forces tried to push the crowd back from the entrance. The protesters, including Galstanian, resisted, jostling with the police.
The Interior Ministry said afterward that at least 29 people were detained as a result. Two deacons of the Armenian Apostolic Church were reportedly among those arrested, and one of them was seriously injured, according to Galstanian.
Aram Hovannisian, chief of the national police and leader of the security forces at the scene, accused the outspoken archbishop of provoking the clash.
Galstanian, who claimed to have been kicked by one of the officers, blamed the police as well as Mirzoyan for the violence.
"Let the police know that they can't intimidate us. This is just a prelude," he said before leading the crowd back to the city's St. Anne Church, the starting point of his daily protests aimed at forcing Pashinian to step down.
The 53-year-old cleric, backed by the opposition, began his rallies in Yerevan on May 9 after leading protests in the northern Tavush Province against Pashinian's decision to cede several border areas to Azerbaijan.
SEE ALSO: Armenian Archbishop Says He Will Challenge Pashinian For PremiershipPashinian has said that the territorial concessions are necessary to prevent Azerbaijani military aggression against Armenia.
His detractors say he is creating additional security risks for the country and encouraging Baku to demand more territory.
Armenian police on May 30 scuffled with demonstrators and detained several of the activists as they rallied in the capital to demand Pashinian's resignation.
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Police, Protesters Clash In Yerevan Amid Latest Protest Demanding PM's Resignation