demonstrators Archives

Armenian Church gives demonstrators 1 week to halt actions otherwise protester-priest will be defrocked

July 10, 2018 by administrator

Amid ongoing protests against Catholicos Garegin II’s rule, the Armenian Church today held a Supreme Spiritual Council Assembly sitting, chaired by the Catholicos himself.

The Assembly decided to defrock Koryun Arakelyan, the priest who is leading the protests. But the Catholicos himself halted the decision, calling for love and understanding. The Assembly subsequently issued a one-week deadline for the protesters to cease their actions.

Earlier the protesters had even breached into the Armenian Church HQ and began a sit-in. Only after few days police intervened.

Protests Grow As Armenian Demonstrators Seek To Stop Ex-President From Becoming Prime Minister

April 16, 2018 by administrator

Opposition supporters block a street during a rally in central Yerevan on April 16.

YEREVAN — Protests aimed at preventing former Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian from retaining power have entered a fourth day, with organizers calling for strikes and boycotts as parliament prepares to elect him prime minister.

Hundreds of people blocked streets in the center of Yerevan on April 16 with Nikol Pashinian, the main organizer of the protests, calling for more large-scale “civil disobedience actions” that would paralyze traffic in the Armenian capital.

Their goal is to disrupt a planned session of parliament on April 17, during which lawmakers are expected to elect Sarkisian as prime minister.

The protesters clogged Marshal Bagramian Avenue, which leads to the National Assembly building, stopping traffic in the process. Lines of riot police stopped the crowd from advancing further toward parliament.

“The time has come to liberate Armenia’s citizens,” Pashinian, the outspoken head of the opposition group Civil Contract, shouted repeatedly through a megaphone.

“With this minor inconvenience we are trying to save you from a greater inconvenience called Serzh Sarkisian,” he added, urging the protesters to remain peaceful.

Washington: Demonstrations ‘Out of Control’ Outside Erdogan Speech in DC

March 31, 2016 by administrator

As Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was set to deliver a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, protests erupted, resulting in violence.

As demonstrators gathered in the US capital to protest Erdogan’s authoritarian policies, Turkish security personnel reportedly kicked one protestor, a woman was thrown to the sidewalk, and one journalist was physically removed from the site.

Gathered on the sidewalks, protesters chanted “Erdogan, terrorist.”

“The situation is a bit out of control,” a US Secret Service agent told Foreign Policy.

Erdogan speaking to supporters outside Brookings pic.twitter.com/hrPCYUV0S7

— Brian Reeves (@BrianNReeves) March 31, 2016

Protest at Erdogan's arrival pic.twitter.com/3kOA6P2ALv

— Brian Reeves (@BrianNReeves) March 31, 2016

Police Detain Over 40 Demonstrators in Beirut – Organizers

August 26, 2015 by administrator

A representative of an activist group claims that more than 40 peaceful protesters were detained by police in Lebanese capital Beirut on Wednesday during an anti-government rally.

BEIRUT (Sputnik) — More than 40 peaceful protesters were detained by police in Lebanese capital Beirut on Wednesday during an anti-government rally, a representative of an activist group told RIA Novosti.

On early Wednesday, hundreds of people gathered at the center of Beirut to march in solidarity with those who had been protesting against garbage collection crisis last week. The rally began peacefully, but later turned violent as the police used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against the activists.

“We came here to protest peacefully, our guys tried to calm down the provocateurs in order to avoid clashes. We asked our companions to leave the area and continue the rally tomorrow. When there were only provocateurs and us, along with a group of people who had little time to leave, the police began beating everyone. About 40 of our people were detained and delivered to the police stations…,” a senior member of the group behind the demonstration said.

The rest of activists went to protest to the police stations in Beirut, demanding the release of their comrades, the group representative added.

Last week, thousands of Lebanese activists took to the streets of Beirut to protest against government corruption and political inaction amid a spreading garbage crisis. The action turned violent as police applied measures against protesters, and dozens of people were injured and hospitalized.

Following the incidents, Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam vowed justice and threatened to resign if the next cabinet session did not yield results.

The problem of garbage in Lebanon became sharp after the country’s main landfill was closed in July. Since then, thousands of tonnes of garbage have been left uncollected as the officials fail to take measures.

Source: sputniknews.com

Intellectuals urge Yerevan demonstrators to disperse and wait for ENA audit results

July 3, 2015 by administrator

The Armenian youth woke up, as if from a deep sleep, and now they need to attract professional economists and lawyers to their ranks, People’s Artist of Armenia, director Nikolai Tsaturyan said today referring to the rallies staged in Bagramyan Avenue of Yerevan to protest a hike in electricity prices.

In his words, there are still numerous problems to be solved because of a deficit in public trust. People have ‘slight faith’ even in the audit expected to be conducted at Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA) Company, the director said.

Writer, publicist Meruzhan Ter-Gulanyan for his part spoke about the latest developments in Armenia, expressing discontent over the reaction to those events in other countries, particularly in Russia.

“I fail to understand why the Russians are trying to see a Maidan in these developments. Let them keep their Maidan to themselves. We have glorious youth and their goals are honest,” the writer said.

The government has also behaved correctly, Ter-Gulanyan said. Yet he considering the young people’s refusal to meet with the head of state an incorrect move.

“Except for June 23, the Armenian police also showed to good advantage,” the writes said. In his words, things that should not have taken place happened that day.

Nikolai Tsaturyan and Meruzhan Ter-Gulanyan appealed to those rally participants who still remain on Bagramyan Avenue: “Dear guys. Go home. It’s hot today. Go and wait for the audit results”.

As was reported, President Serzh Sargsyan said at the June 27 consultation with officials responsible for the economic policy in Armenia that cancelling the decision on power tariff rise is “very dangerous”. For this reason the government will cover the tariff rise until the conclusion (of an audit of Electric Networks – editor), he said. “Of course, we will not pull out the ongoing programs or social expenditures, but will identify other resources among the means allotted for the further strengthening of (energy) security.

Certainly, our security issues are far from being solved, to say the least, and yet that environment of suspicion and distrust that we have now, I think is another security issue and a very important one. And that must be solved. And if that conclusion [of the audit] confirms the price increase is well-based, from that moment on the consumers will begin paying the new tariff without having any suspicions. Should the conclusion confirm the increase had been groundless, the government would take measures to get refunds from the ENA on the amount surcharged, as well as bring to account those officials that failed on their duties»,” the president said noting that under such conditions the work that the government started a few months ago to change the owner of ENA will become a certainty, and the option of returning the company to the state and transferring it for competitive management is not ruled out.

Source: Panorama.am

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Armenian Demonstrators to Decide Whether to Halt Protest #ElectricYerevan

June 28, 2015 by administrator

YEREVAN, Armenia — Jun 28, 2015, 10:35 AM ET

By AVET DEMOURIAN Associated Press

Demonstrators protesting higher household electricity rates blocked the Armenian capital’s main avenue on Sunday for a seventh straight day, but they planned to decide in the evening whether to call a halt to their protest after the president promised to suspend the rate hikes.

If the protesters don’t leave by late Sunday, the Yerevan police warned that they would take steps to disperse the demonstrators and open the street to traffic.

After nearly a week in which the number of protesters grew steadily to reach about 15,000, the turning point came late Saturday when President Serzh Sargsyan announced that the government would bear the burden of the higher electricity costs until an international audit of the power company could be done. The protesters claim the Russian-owned utility is riddled with corruption.

The unrest is the most serious that the former Soviet nation has seen in years, posing a challenge to Sargsyan’s government and causing great concern in Moscow. Russia maintains a military base in Armenia and Russian companies control most of its major industries.

Protest organizer Vaghinak Shushanian said Sunday that the president did as much as he was able to do legally, and while it was not a complete victory for the demonstrators, it made sense for them to take a break. But he said the decision on whether to halt the protest would be made by the demonstrators themselves as the crowds returned for the evening rally.

The city’s deputy police chief, Valery Osipian, said his officers were prepared “to try to restore social order” if the street weren’t cleared by the end of the night. After an initial attempt to disperse the protesters through the use of water cannons, which only angered them and brought international condemnation, the police have stood by peacefully.

During the heat of the day, as usual only a few hundred protesters remained on the street, separated from the police by a line of large trash containers. They were joined in the afternoon by a newlywed couple, who carried signs calling for the electricity company’s debts to be paid by its Russian director and for the utility to be nationalized.

Sargsyan said Saturday that he wouldn’t exclude the nationalization of the Armenian power company, a subsidiary of the Russian electricity company Inter RAO UES.

The president’s focus, however, was on plans for an audit, which he said would be conducted by an international company with input from some of the protest organizers. If the audit showed that the rate hikes were justified, they would be passed on to consumers, he said.

Libanon: Armenian Protesters Trap Turkish Ambassador in Beirut Theater

March 18, 2015 by administrator

Turkey’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Suleiman Inan Oz Yildiz, inside. (Photo: AYF Lebanon)

BEIRUT, Lebanon (A.W.)—Turkey’s Ambassador to Lebanon, Suleiman Inan Oz Yildiz, was temporarily trapped today inside a Beirut movie theater, as Armenian demonstrators held a protest outside, reported the Lebanese Daily Star newspaper.

Approximately 60 members of the Armenian Youth Federation of Lebanon and the Zavarian Student Association held a demonstration at the entrance of ABC Grand Cinema in Ashrafieh, where Yildiz was attending a screening of “Son Mektup.” The film, a Turkish love story, is set during the Battle of Gallipoli, and tells the story of the Ottoman Empire’s first pilot, Salih Ekrem.

According to the report, protestors yelled out slogans such as “Genocide,” “Truth will triumph” and “We remember,” and held banners reading “Recognize the crime of the century.” Security forces were brought in to block the entrance of the theater to prevent patrons from clashing with protesters.

The protest was organized as a result of Turkey’s efforts to sway public attention away from the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide by focusing on the Battle of Gallipoli.

Earlier this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent official invitations to more than 100 world leaders, including Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, to take part in the ceremonies. The date designated for these commemoration events—April 24—created uproar among Armenians worldwide, while Turkish human rights groups urged world leaders to boycott the Gallipoli events.

On Jan. 16, Sarkisian responded to Erdogan’s invitation to Turkey in a strongly worded letter. “Turkey continues its conventional denial policy and is perfecting its instrumentation for distorting history. This time, Turkey is marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli on April 24, even though the battle began on March 18, 1915 and lasted until late January 1916, while the Allies’ operation started on April 25,” he wrote, adding, “What is the purpose [of this] if not to distract the world’s attention from the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide?”

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