Azernews.Az

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

This autumn is going to be a hot season in Armenia, as the opposition forces have repeatedly said that they plan to hold a joint protest rally on October 10.

The upcoming rally has sparked concerns among Armenian authorities. So they have decided to do their best to disrupt the protest.

The local Hraparak newspaper wrote that Armenian police held an extraordinary meeting on how to disperse the protesters.

The Head of Armenian Police, Vladimir Gasparyan, stated that the policemen should avoid a "philosophical approach" towards protesters. In other words, they should disperse the rally without any explanation. He has instructed all policemen to punish the demonstrators to the "fullest extent of the law."

Protesters are going to demand the authorities to cut taxes for small businesses, considerably increase subsidies to farmers, avoid rise in public transport fares and eliminate economic monopolies. Amendments to the Electoral Code are also included in the list of their demands.

Gasparyan noted that police officers should detect the rally organizers and punish them as provided in the legislation.

Gasparyan has given 24 hours to police employees to mull over the instructed "approach" towards the protesters.

He even hinted that those who think that the application of law requirements is unacceptable should give up their job.

Armenian police have long been accused by civic groups of using disproportionate force against citizens during massive protest rally against fraud elections. They are blamed for 10 deaths in street violence that followed the disputed presidential election in February, 2008.

Brutality against demonstrators during the rally to protest against the rise of electricity prices in July, 2014, became another example of heavy-handedness of police. The protests turned violent when police used force to disperse the peaceful demonstrators and arrested some of them.

Police in Armenia have been reported as the main violators of human rights in an official investigation. The Socioscope Societal Research and Consultancy Center revealed that Armenian police carried out the harshest violation of the nation's human rights.