Yerevan: Police Put Down Further Protests against Electricity Hikes (Video)

Following the June-July demonstrations in Armenia protesting the planned rise in electricity costs, a further demonstration was organized in Freedom Square (Yerevan), with demonstrators again occupying  Yerevan's key avenue. However, this morning they were quickly removed from the area by police forces.

Around 2,000 people participated in the latest rally organized by the "No to Plunder" civic initiative as a continuation of June protests, to demand an annulment of the decision to raise the price of electricity. After the rally, demonstrators began moving in the direction of Baghramian Avenue where the Parliament and Presidential palace are located, but were stopped by the police.

Police concentrated huge forces in the avenue and demanded the demonstrators leave the area. Their demand was ignored by the demonstrators who announced they would be staying there until their demands are satisfied.

Police forces succeeded in pushing the demonstrators back and out of the avenue at about 5 am this morning.

Today’s put-down differs positively from the previous case- when, on June 23, Yerevan police depressed demonstrators using brutal force and water cannons- as this time no special arsenal was employed. Nor were the rights of journalists in the area violated, as happened in June.

At the time of writing, the situation in the Armenian capital is calm, but in one of the Opposition offices, opponents to the constitutional reforms suggested by President, Serzh Sargsyan, are holding a meeting with the aim of signing a declaration and arranging actions to prevent the reforms which they claim are aimed at prolonging the rule of the President indefinitely, so establishing a dictatorship in Armenia. They expect to raise a protest wave in the coming weeks. 

Photo: from the June 2015 protests / Telegraph.co.uk.

Karen Tovmasyan