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Indian store owners protest Walmart’s Flipkart acquisition

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protest Walmart's Flipkart acquisition

protest Walmart’s Flipkart acquisition

Up to 1 million traders in India are expected to take part in nationwide protests against Walmart’s proposed acquisition of a majority share in Flipkart. It is widely feared that the move could create a retail monopoly.

A lobby group of small Indian traders and store owners has asked its members to hold protests across the country on Monday against Walmart’s proposed $16 billion (€13.8 billion) acquisition of a 77 percent stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said the US retail giant’s buyout of Bengaluru-based Flipkart would create a monopoly in the retail market and drive small store owners out of business.

The secretary general of CAIT, Praveen Khandelwal, told Reuters he expected a million people in all to join Monday’s sit-in protests across hundreds of Indian cities.

India’s Business Standard newspaper quoted Khandelwal as saying that the e-commerce marketplace “had been vitiated to a great extent in past years by several companies by indulging into all kinds of malpractices, including predatory pricing, deep discounting and loss funding.”

Clashing interests?

“Today sees the first phase of our protest,” CAIT said in a statement. “And if the government doesn’t listen, we will decide our future course of action at our national convention in Delhi later this month.”

Walmart currently runs 21 cash-and-carry stores in India. It said Monday it had been supporting local manufacturing in the Asian nation by sourcing from small and medium-sized suppliers.

“Our partnership with Flipkart will provide thousands of local suppliers with access to consumers through the marketplace model,” Walmart India Senior Vice President Rajneesh Kumar said in a statement.

Walmart’s buyout deal has yet to be approved by India’s anti-trust regulators.

Protest by the civil society group, Nicosia over fate of Co-op

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A protest by the civil society group, the Movement Against Foreclosures, took place on Ledra and Onosagorou streets in Nicosia’s old town on Saturday morning, following an increase in withdrawals from Co-op banks on Friday.

A protest by the civil society group, the Movement Against Foreclosures, was taking place on Ledra and Onosagorou streets in Nicosia’s old town on Saturday morning, following an increase in withdrawals from the Co-op banks on Friday.

Demonstrators marched down Ledra Street, shouting: “Hands off our houses.”

The protest, supported by the Ctizens’ Alliance, Edek and the Green parties, follows the recent Co-op sell-off to Hellenic bank and statements on Thursday suggesting if the deal did not go ahead the Co-op could be liquidated, prompting queues at the bank as customers withdraw money.

“The comments about the remote, theoretical probability of the liquidation of the Cyprus Cooperative Bank were made to stress the most extreme negative consequences if the transfer of the Cyprus Cooperative Bank to Hellenic Bank is not completed, a solution which under the circumstances constitutes the only alternative,” a central bank spokesperson said on Friday, in an attempt to allay fears.

It was reported that 70 million euros had been withdrawn by lunchtime on Friday.

“Unfortunately, Anastasiades’ government, irresponsibly and catastrophically, brought things, yet again, to a tragic impasse,” said the Citizens’ Alliance in support of the Movement Against Foreclosure’s demonstration in a statement.

The party said that the Co-op bank is state-owned and its sale equals to the sale of state-owned property.

Edek also issued a statement of support for the protest and criticised the central bank’s comments on Friday,

“Unfortunately, the Central Bank of Cyprus, instead of protecting the Co-operative Bank and most of all the depositors through its actions, has through rash actions and statements created an additional problem, if one takes into account the withdrawal of approximately over 70 million euros from the Cooperative Bank.”

The Solidarity Movement was equaling scathing.

“Those governing have the full blame, and even if the story is changing, in the eyes of the people they are believed to be guilty,” a party statement said.

Armenian youth in Prague protest against armament supply to Azerbaijan

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Armenian youth in Prague protest

The Armenian Youth Association of the Czech Republic has conducted a protest rally outside the Slovakian Embassy and CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP, a company specializing in engineering, automotive, rail, aviation and defence industries, to raise public concerns over the supply of offensive weapons to Azerbaijan.

“The youth organized a protest action to raise public awareness of the armament transported from the Czech Republic to Slovakia and later also – to Israel from where it reached Azerbaijan,” Hakob Asatryan, the editor-in-chief of the Prague-based Armenian magazine Orer, told Tert.am, describing the transaction a kind of corruption by the Czech company.

He added that the activists intend to continue the campaign also on the social networks, “The efforts of the Armenian community, especially the youth, should be directed to at least preventing the exportation of those weapons from the Czech Republic,” he added.

Reports on the supply of the Czech-manufactured self-propelled artillery piece DANA M1 and the heavy multiple rocket launcher РСЗО were published by the Azerbaijani media in 2017.

 

Asatryan cited also recent reports in the local media about an investigation into the sale of Czech weaponry to Azerbaijan through Slovakia. He added that the topic was addressed also by the Czech Public Television which had conducted an extensive journalistic investigation.

 

But despite the wide coverage of the transaction and the protests, neither the Slovakian authorities nor any international organization has reacted to the growing concerns, Asatryan said.

In a recent interview with a Czech TV channel, Armenian Ambassador to the Czech Republic Tigran Seyran said he initiated discussions on different levels and in different formats and even sent a request to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs upon knowing the investigation outcomes.

“We expect that the Slovak authorities will not only answer our questions but will also run a detailed investigation on how it was possible that CZECHOSLOVAK GROUP exported dangerous combat armament to Azerbaijan, a country, which is unpredictable and abates universal human rights,” he said in comments to Tert.am.

After Armenian Leader’s Ouster, Yerevan Mayor A Focus Of Protests

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YEREVAN — Dozens of protesters have burst into City Hall in Yerevan, demanding the resignation of the Armenian capital’s mayor over the stripping of trees from a formerly lush park outside the building.

The demonstrators who stormed the building on May 16 after days of protests are also accusing Mayor Taron Markarian of corruption and the misuse of state funds.

Tree Protesters Storm Yerevan City Hall (natural sound)

They assailed him as an alleged ally of longtime former President Serzh Sarkisian, who stepped down as prime minister on April 23 after weeks of peaceful street protests by Armenians who accused him of clinging to power.

A catalyst for the protests at City Hall was a Facebook post juxtaposing a photograph of the long, narrow park full of trees with one showing it stripped of most of the greenery.

Տեսեք, թե ինչ տեսք է ունեցել այգին մինչև «բարեկարգումը»: Թե բա նոր ծառեր են տնկելու, եսիմ ինչեր են անելու: Էդքան տարվա այգին կտրեն, նորը սարքելու համար, որին շատ երկար տարիներ կպահանջվի, որ էս նույն տեքսքին գա: Լիքը ամայի տարածքներ կան, թող մեկը վերցնեին ու բարեկարգեին, ծառեր տնկեին, բայց դե բոլորս էլ գիտենք, թե ոնց ու ինչի համար ա արվում:
Պիտի մերժել տարոնին էլ, պիտի նոր ավագանի ընտրել, պիտի պատասխանատվության ենթարկել բոլոր պատասխանատուներին:

Demonstrators demanded Markarian meet with them and explain why trees were being cut.

A representative of the mayor told them that the park was being “modernized” and that only dry or dead trees were being cut.

But several protesters brought branches or twigs with green leaves, which they say were cut in the park, and demanded an explanation from Markarian.

Protesters were still inside the building hours after they burst in, many chanting in an area near the entrance, and there was a crowd outside.

First Deputy Mayor Kamo Areian told protesters that the mayor was eager to meet with them in “a calm atmosphere” to discuss the situation in the park.

Areian indicated that Marakarian has no plans to step down, saying that the “issue of the mayor’s resignation is not on the agenda.”

The development came eight days after Nikol Pashinian, who led the street protests that unexpectedly brought down Sarkisian after 10 years in power, was voted in as prime minister of the South Caucasus country on May 8.

Opponents of Sarkisian, who had been president for 10 years and moved to the newly powerful post of prime minister in mid-April, see him as part of a long-entrenched ruling elite that is unresponsive to the interests of many Armenians.

Protest actions staged throughout Russia

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Opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his supporters are holding protest actions ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration, Dozhd reported.

The protests titled “He’s Not Our Tsar” have been prohibited by the government.

Russian Police have already detained several demonstrations in various cities throughout the country, including Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

 

ARF Western US Statement on Protests in Armenia “FYI ARF Armenia voted for Sargsyan as PM”

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Published on Asbarez For the past several days, a significant sector of the population in Yerevan has resorted to protests and other civil disobedience measures demanding that the election of Armenia’s former president Serzh Sarkisian as prime minister be nullified.

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation believes that it is our people’s inalienable constitutional right to free speech and assembly and to stive for social justice. Hence, the current protests, as long as they are taking place within the confines of the law, are the legal and moral right of the protesters.

It is our conviction that Armenia’s prosperous future lies with the hopes placed on our youth and students. It is also our belief that every step must be taken to avoid bloodshed in the process of resolving issues.

The peaceful and legal transition of power determined by the Constitution is a tenet of complete democracy. Last week, we witnessed the peaceful and lawful transition from a presidential to a parliamentary system of government.

The same tenets must apply to the transition of prime minister’s powers within the new system of government. There can be no objection to this process, and the protesters in Yerevan are also not objecting to the process. It seems their opposition is to the newly appointed prime minister.

According to the Constitution, the party that holds a majority in parliament has the right to nominate a prime minister candidate.

Hence, the protesters and all political forces today are faced with the imperative for solution that is acceptable by all. This solution cannot circumvent the country’s constitutional order, but rather, based on the provisions of the constitution, a proper solution must be derived, in order to benefit the people and the homeland. In the quest to find an acceptable solution, on the one hand, the leaders of the protest and on the other the appointed prime minister and his party have come to an impasse, which demands from each side understanding and political maturity.

As always, our party can only support an equitable outcome where the concept of the state is paramount and the situation is properly untangled.

Thus, we call on our compatriots and organizations in our community to work together and, through political maturity and for the sake of our statehood, maintain our unity and confidence, in order for our homeland and our people to emerge victorious from this crisis.

More Arrests In Yerevan As Armenian Opposition Protests Resume

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More Arrests In Yerevan

More Arrests In Yerevan

YEREVAN — More than 180 people were detained in the Armenian capital, authorities said, as police tried to stop opposition supporters from blocking streets in protest against the election of former President Serzh Sarkisian as prime minister.

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of the capital for an eighth straight day on April 20, opposing what they say is Sarkisian’s attempt to maintain his grip on power after his 10-year stint as president ended two weeks ago.

Opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinian, who is leading the protests, marched through downtown Yerevan in a crowd of demonstrators, while other protesters gathered at several sites.

Reports say protesters also rallied in Armenia’s second-largest city, Gyumri, where they attempted to block a highway leading to Yerevan.

The number of those detained grew steadily throughout the day, according to figures relased periodically by the national police.

“As of 3:30 p.m. local time, 183 people have been taken to police stations,” police spokesman Ashot Agaronian told the media.

Video footage showed men in plainclothes shoving protesters in unmarked cars. It was unclear whether they were police officers and whether those they apprehended were counted among those officially detained.

In an interview with Current Time TV, Pashinian rejected the accusation that protesters were committing offenses against public order.

“This is a completely peaceful [protest], but there is a new element to it,” Pashinian told Current Time, a project of RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, as he marched in a crowd.

“We are calling on the police not to protect Serzh Sarkisian, because they are not Serzh Sarkisian’s police, but the police of the Republic of Armenia and its people,” he said.

Sarkisian wants to “see Armenia either through barbed wire or through the slots in riot shields,” Pashinian said, suggesting that the longtime leader is hiding behind the police.

Throughout the city, groups of young activists, students, and other opposition supporters organized marches and blocked streets, interrupting traffic, and forcing police to respond by deploying units in various parts of Yerevan

Moscow Kremlin hopes everything in Yerevan stays within the law

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Kremlin follows the events happening in Armenia with the hope that the actions stay peaceful and within the law in the country. This statement was announced by the spokesman of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov.

“We are following everything that is happening in Armenia. Most importantly we hope that everything stays within the law”, said Peskov as reported by RIA Novosti.

Peskov also reminded that the Russian president Vladimir Putin had earlier sent a congratulatory message to the newly elected Prime Minister of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan. “Later in the evening, Putin had a telephone call with Sargsyan and congratulated him for being elected as a Prime Minister. Undoubtedly they have exchanged opinions”, said Peskov.

The President of Russia and the Armenian Prime Minister expressed mutual willingness to continue investing efforts in the reinforcement of the Armenian-Russian strategic partnership as well as towards promotion of the integration processes.

Meanwhile the demonstrations of opposition against Armenian Prime Minister continue in the center of Yerevan.

Related links:

Ria.ru. В Кремле следят за ситуацией в Армении

Iraqis burn US flags, shout ‘Stop destroying Syria’

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Iraqis come out in their thousands in Baghdad as well as the holy cities of Najaf and Basra to protest airstrikes on Syria by the US, Britain, and France.

Hundreds gathered in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square with Syrian and Iraqi flags on Sunday, to demonstrate their support for the Syrian people. They burned several US flags and then stomped on them.

“Stop destroying Syria as you destroyed our country,” shouted the protesters, in reference to the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq. “No to America, no to the bombardment of Syria,” they chanted.

The Western trio fired more than 100 missiles at Syria early Saturday following an alleged chemical attack in the town of Douma near Damascus.

Syria, which surrendered its chemical weapons stockpile during a process monitored by the United Nations chemical watchdog in 2014, has rejected carrying out the attack.

The Syrian government has said the attack was staged to give the aggressors a pretext to launch the airstrikes following recent army victories against terrorists near Damascus.

Crowds also took to the streets in the cities of Najaf and Basra, south of Baghdad.

The Iraqi government warned Saturday that the Western airstrikes on Syria were a “very dangerous” development that could fuel a Takfiri resurgence in the region.

On Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari warned of the huge dangers of a military escalation in Syria in a telephone conversation with Acting US Secretary of State John Sullivan.

Jaafari stated that any further act of aggression against the conflict-plagued Arab country would undermine security and stability in the Middle East region as a whole.

Slovakia protest largest since 1989 anti-communism rallies, murder of journalist Jan Kuciak

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Slovakia protest largest

Slovakia protest largest

Protesters have gathered to call for Slovak Prime Minister Fico and his government to step down following the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancee. The president has warned of a crisis of trust.

Slovakia has witnessed its largest protest since anti-communism rallies in 1989, with an estimated 50,000 gathering in the capital, Bratislava. The reason: the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée. Their murders sent shockwaves across the country and the EU. Kuciak was working on a story linking businessmen operating in the country with the Italian Mafia before his death.