Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Armenian citizens who got injured during the brutal police crackdown of the demonstration on June 23 against the electricity price hike have appealed to the European Court of Human Rights.

One of the applicants, the coordinator of "Union of Informed Citizens" NGO Daniel Ioannisyan said the sixteen Armenian citizens, who had claimed to have suffered as a result of the disperse of the protest action appealed to ECHR, Epress.am reported.

“We have not received an answer yet, however, according to ECHR procedure, the Court must have had already sent an inquiry to the Armenian government in connection with the June 23 events and the threat of recurrence of violence,” Ioannisyan said.

Starting from June 22, activists closed Yerevan’s Baghramyan Avenue and demanded that the decision to increase electricity prices be canceled.

Early morning on June 23, police brutally dispersed the crowd with the help of water cannons and detained nearly 240 activists and protesters from the sit-in. While breaking up the protest on Baghramyan Avenue, the police officers also used force against many journalists.

“As we can see, after the complaint, police have become cautious in their actions towards protesters. Thus, the government wants to refute our claim about the threat of recurrence of violence,” he said.

Ioannisyan added that this threat, however, is evidenced by photos of combat armored vehicles and water cannons presently located on Baghramyan Avenue and Demirchyan street. The photos have also been sent to the European Court of Human Rights.

On June 30, several dozen of activists protesting against the increase in electricity tariffs marched in the center of Yerevan, chanting "No tariffs, no looting!"

Several hundred activists gathered on Baghramyan Avenue. The avenue is still blocked by protesters.

However, a recent statement by President Serzh Sargsyan has divided the activists into separate groups. On June 28 some of them went to Liberty Square, whereas the majority stayed at Baghramyan Avenue.

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 ENA, which supplies electricity to the country’s residents.

Protesters on Baghramyan Avenue have formed a new initiative against the electricity price hike.

The group will coordinate the work of the various groups at the sit-in, protestor Narek Ayvazyan said, noting that 10-member groups have been created, each of them having one representative in the latest initiative.

While some consider that mass protests are the result of the economic not political problems, others believe that the problem is indeed political.

Zaruhi Postanjyan, opposition Heritage Party MP said being at Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, is already a political bid.

“Of course, the problem is political. If it were not political, they would have petitioned to the social welfare minister, or executive director of Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) company Yevgeny Bibin with their demand,” Postanjyan said, Armenian media reported.

The opposition MP also did not agree with the view that the movement is at a phase of stagnation, noting Baghramyan Avenue still remains on the agenda.

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.

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 miserable economic conditions.

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

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