Yerevan
YEREVAN. – “No to Plunder” campaign, which is staging a protest against electricity price hike today in Yerevan, has deviated from its previously scheduled route. The activists suddenly changed their way from Yerevan’s Mashtots Avenue and ran to Baghramyan Avenue.
The police tried to stop the activists, but useless: The activists reached the section on Baghramyan Avenue where they built barricades and staged a sit-in earlier in June, as reported by Armenian News – NEWS.am correspondent. But here they met the police barrier made up of several rows.
The first rows of the activists immediately sat on the ground, scanning: “We want water” and “Sit-in.”
Yerevan Deputy Chief of Police Valery Osipyan warned that those disturbing public order will be held liable. He also said that what was allowed was the march following another route, which didn’t include Baghramyan Avenue.
As reported earlier, members of the oppositional movements “Founding Parliament,” and “Stand up, Armenia” have also joined the “No to Plunder” campaign.
The march was scheduled to be held in Yerevan’s Sayat-Nova, Abovyan, Amiryan streets, as well as Mashtots Avenue, and was to end in Liberty Square.
The decision on electricity price hike has come into force since August 1. PM Hovik Abrahamyan stated that the added 6,93 AMD will be subsidized by extra-budgetary funds received from the sale of Armenia’s Vorotan Cascade.
The initiative members were outraged by the fact that although the President had announced that the whole “burden” would be taken on by the state, the PM stated that the subsidy will be provided only to the citizens and those small and medium enterprises (SME) which consume up to 500 kW energy.
The initiative members said they feel deceived.