Two members of ARF youth movement detained

ArmInfo.Two members of the ARF Dashnaktsutyun (ARF) youth movement were detained for attempting to return the Artsakh flag to Yerevan's France Square.

According to the movement's press service, the Artsakh flag, placed  there by citizens in 2022, has been removed from the square for three  days now, following orders from the Yerevan City Hall. "Yerevan City  Hall is waging a fierce battle against the Artsakh flag. Members of  the ARF youth movement have been immediately returning the flag to  its place for all these days. After the flag was removed for the  third time yesterday evening, two members of the movement were  detained while attempting to return it," the ARF reported.

Thus, as the movement noted, a reality has emerged in Armenia where  Armenian youth are being detained for flying the Artsakh flag in  Yerevan. The ARF youth movement stated that this is not just another  incident, but a fight against national symbols. "The fight against  the Artsakh flag is in fact a fight against Armenian memory, history,  and values, and best reveals the anti-national nature of the current  government.  But no matter how hard they try to erase national  memory, the homeland we build through our struggle will be founded on  our values and historical truth. And in this homeland, the Artsakh  flag will always have its rightful and irreplaceable place as a  symbol of struggle, memory, and national dignity," the movement  concluded.

It is worth noting that the current government in Armenia is waging a  fight not only against the symbols of Artsakh. Effective November 1,  2025, the Armenian authorities removed the image of Mount Ararat from  state stamps used at border crossings.

It's noteworthy that this decision was made on the eve of the Turkish  delegation's visit to Yerevan. The Armenian Prime Minister explained  this decision by "the desire to depict symbols associated with  Armenia's internationally recognized borders on the border stamp."  Subsequently, the Armenian authorities resorted to a ploy to avoid  using Mount Ararat in the country's new passports. And in May 2026,  they also changed the emblem of the Armenian Armed Forces, depicting  the so-called map of the "real Armenia," which Armenian Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan particularly actively used during the  elections.