Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

After nearly ten days of a massive protest against an electricity price hike, it seems that the Armenian police have lost patience.

The situation in the downtown Yerevan is alarming. During the past several days, the police have tried to disperse the protesters and free Yerevan’s Baghramyan Avenue of demonstrators.

The police are trying to remove garbage cans, used as barricades by protesters for several days, News-Armenia website reported.

Valery Osipyan, the deputy head of Yerevan’s police, threatened protesters not to interfere in police actions. But the protesters have ignored the warning and are not allowing police to remove barricades.

Earlier, the Armenian police chief, Vladimir Gasparyan gave the protesters a deadline to disperse and said the Baghramyan Avenue would be cleared of the remaining protesters.

Gasparyan even warned that the following police crackdown will be much harsher. When asked by journalists whether the measures used to disperse the June 23 sit-in demonstration will be applied again or not, Gasparyan responded, “we will act more harshly.”

Early morning on June 23, police brutally dispersed the crowd with the help of water cannon, and detained a total of 237 activists and protesters from the sit-in. While breaking up the protest on Baghramyan Avenue, the police officers also used force against many journalists.

Meanwhile, the situation on Baghramyan Avenue remains tense. There are disagreements between the protesters themselves.

The “No to Plunder” initiative accused the remaining activists on Baghramyan Avenue of politicizing the movement. Leader of the initiative, Vaginak Shushanyan, had previously urged demonstrators to leave Baghramyan, move to Avenue Freedom Square, and turn it into a tent city. He also said there are provocateurs on Baghramyan Avenue that are trying to transform their civil claims into political grievances.

Some of the protesters have remained on Baghramyan Avenue and do not intend to leave. The police have surrounded them with a large show of force.

Armenia’s opposition leader said MPs and celebrities, who are standing as human shields between demonstrators and police, have decided to remain on the avenue until the very end, to avoid clashes between police and demonstrators.

Naira Zograbyan, the leader of Prosperous Armenia party, stressed that a clash will be detrimental to the whole country, Armenian media reported.

Following the demonstrations in Yerevan, President Serzh Sargsyan held a meeting with the officials responsible for the economic policy of the country. During the meeting, he said the government would cover this price hike until an audit is conducted at the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) Company, which supplies electricity to the country’s residents.

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, consumers are required to pay 48.78 drams instead of the current 41.85 per 1 kWh per day starting August 1.

The approval of price hike has spurred strong discontent among the population, as many in Armenia believe that the rise in electricity tariffs will consequently trigger a price increase for crucial basic goods and services in a country already plagued by a miserable economic situation.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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