Armenian protesters try to defend their rights
By Laman Sadigova
The members of the “Rise up, Armenia” initiative launched a new wave of protest in the country. Earlier, they declared that they would conduct a 72-hour sit-in against the electricity price hike on Republic Square in Yerevan.
The authorities, however, have not granted protesters official authorization and the police have cordoned off the area, creating a wall to hold back the protesters.
“We are keeping the police on guard; we are sitting, while they are ‘suffering.’ We are showing that we will stage the sit-in in the central part. If they think they can interfere with our protest, I assure you, we will stage our protest,” protester David Sanasaryan said.
After a while, the protesters finally managed to break through the police barricade and were briefly able to conduct the sit-in on the central square.
They were, however, forcefully removed from the square area by the police.
Now over a dozen of protesters and other citizens are back to continue the sit-in and intend to stay at the square.
The activists have also started a procession in the country’s regions on July 28, beginning from the city of Vanadzor. Demonstrators will hold a rally in Gyumri, Talin, and Ashtarak, and then return to the capital.
The "No robbery" Movement, which initiated the first wave of protests, refused to join the demonstration, explaining its decision by saying that they have other ways of fighting.
The Commission on Regulation of Public Services in Armenia in its June 17 meeting approved a decision to increase electricity tariffs by 6.93 Armenian drams (about $0.015). As a result, starting on August 1 consumers would have been required to pay 48.78 drams instead of the current 41.85 per 1 kWh per day.
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