Islamists hold protest in front of Israeli embassy in Baku. Members of Islamic Party of Azerbaijan detained

July 10, 2015 By administrator

Activists of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan held a protest in front of the Israeli embassy dedicated to the actions of solidarity with the Palestinians, “Remember Quds!” (Jerusalem). About 50 people took part in the protest, according to Haqqin.az.

According to the report, Quds Day is traditionally observed by the Islamists all over the world on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan to demand Jerusalem’s liberation of occupation. This is the initiative of the Iranian Islamic Revolution leader, Imam Khomeini.

Turan agency reports that reinforced police squads stopped the Islamists’ protest detaining over 20 believers, including deputy chairmen of the Islamic Party of Azerbaijan, Elchin Manafov, Akif Heydarli and Vuqar Ibayev.
“The journalists were also treated in an extremely undiplomatic way and driven away from the venue by the police,” Turan writes.

Source: Panorama.am

Istanbul: Protesters demand return of an Armenian orphanage in Istanbul

July 7, 2015 By administrator

Protesters demanding return of an Armenian orphanage held an action in Tuzla district of Istanbul.

The march was attended by 500 people, among them two MPs from Republican People’s Party, Bir Gun reported.

MP Baris Yarkadis said the authorities tried to make an impression that the building will be transferred to Armenians, but now it is clear they want to take it away to divide between themselves.

Camp Armen Armenian orphanage was confiscated by the Turkish authorities back in 1987. Subsequently, it was sold to a Turkish businessman who, in turn, decided to demolish the orphanage and build luxury homes in the premises. As a result of public pressure, however, the demolition of the orphanage has been temporarily halted.

The camp was once home to around 1,500 Armenian children, including the late Hrant Dink—the founder and chief editor of Agos Armenian bilingual weekly of Istanbul, and who was shot dead on January 19, 2007 outside the office of his weekly—, and his wife Rakel.

China warns citizens traveling to Turkey over anti-China protests

July 5, 2015 By administrator

BEIJING – Reuters

China has warned its citizens traveling in Turkey to be careful of anti-Beijing protests, in the wake of several attacks on tourists and restaurants mistaken for being Chinese in Istanbul.

The notice, posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on July 5, said there have recently been “multiple” demonstrations in Turkey targeting the Chinese government.

“Absolutely do not get close to or film the protests, and minimize to the greatest extent outside activities when alone,” the notice said.

Relations between China and Turkey have been strained amid Turkish media reports suggesting that ethnic Uighur Muslims in China’s far western region of Xinjiang are being banned from worship and fasting during the holy month of Ramadan.

‘Electric Yerevan’ Insists No One Has Pulled Plug On Armenia Protests

July 4, 2015 By administrator

By RFE/RL

Demonstrators dance in the street during the “Electric Yerevan” protest on July 2.

YEREVAN — Street protests in the Armenian capital that sent shock waves far beyond the Caucasus have gone nearly quiet, with neither side able to claim victory in a battle over electricity prices.

A two-week standoff over makeshift barricades and nightly rallies that are blocking a main throughfare in downtown Yerevan continues, and organizers have vowed to remain on the street.

They oppose a nationwide hike of at least 16 percent in electricity prices from August, announced some time ago but only cleared by the country’s price regulator on June 17.

A police threat remains in effect to tear down the largely unoccupied mini-encampment on Marshal Baghramian Avenue, where only a handful of protesters linger during the midday heat but ranks of demonstrators swell for evening rallies.

But tensions have eased significantly since President Serzh Sarkisian signaled a possible compromise on June 27, and competing protest factions have emerged to take some steam out of the movement.

A protest leader and Yerevan city assemblyman, Davit Sanasarian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service on July 3 that while the government might be “physically” overpowering demonstrators, it lacks “political resource” to repeat the kind of dispersal operation that shocked Armenians and the international public more than a week ago.

And a senior activist from the No To Plunder group that led the first round-the-clock protests in Yerevan, but which has since changed tactics in an effort to take its message to other regions, says plans are continuing for a “public meeting” in the city of Gyumri on July 4.

Authorities appear reluctant to repeat the mistakes that grabbed international headlines on June 23 when police conducted mass arrests and riot policemen trained a water cannon on peaceful participants in a sit-in that began when the protesters’ route to the presidential palace was blocked.

On July 3, prosecutors announced the launch of a criminal investigation into possible police wrongdoing in that clash, in which protesters and journalists were injured and reporters (including from RFE/RL’s Armenian Service) had their equipment seized.

The daily Hayots Askkhar this week described the protest as “nominally going on…but in terms of substance, it is simply melting away, dying down, like an ice cream in the summer heat.”

The “public meeting” on Gyumri’s central Theater Square should provide an indication of whether No To Plunder can muster sufficient support to take its movement beyond the capital.

Meanwhile, in Yerevan, 15 little-known activists stepped into the breech that No To Plunder left behind on July 1 and have vowed to reenergize the protest on Baghramian Avenue.

Sanasarian, a senior member of the opposition Zharangutyun (Heritage) party who is also a member of the city’s municipal assembly, told RFE/RL’s Armenian Service that the new “Electric Yerevan” organizers’ “first task is to sort out this disorganized situation.”

He dismissed the notion of “leaders,” though, saying, “There are only persons who will be doing hard work…[and] should spend more time here than other citizens, because we are responsible for what is happening here.”

In a Facebook chat moderated by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service from Baghramian Avenue on July 3, Sanasarian vowed that protesters would stand their ground in the street and continue to press the authorities to meet their demands.

On June 27, President Sarkisian said the Armenian government would tap its funds set aside for a “further strengthening of national security” to “bear the burden” and subsidize higher energy tariffs in the coming months, pending an audit of Armenia’s Russian-controlled power distributor.

The Yerevan protesters insisted on July 3 that their demands remain the same: to completely revoke the 16-percent-plus electricity price hike; to investigate the June 23 violence against protesters and punish police officers guilty of excessive violence or ordering the use of such force; and to reconsider current electricity prices with an eye to lowering them from current levels.

Organizers, wary of being portrayed as insurrectionists of the kind that helped to oust the government in nearby Ukraine in early 2014, have resisted suggestions that they harbor broader aims connected to Armenia’s strategic positioning.

A small group of would-be protesters who turned up at the Yerevan rally on the evening of July 2 waving EU flags were quickly confronted as “provocatuers” and told to “go away.”

Russian officials have repeatedly accused the West of fomenting “color revolutions” in the former communist bloc and pressured Yerevan in 2013 to spurn closer ties with the European Union.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on July 2 warned against “find[ing] it useful to go further and develop these processes in a political direction” in Armenia.

Moscow agreed a $200 million loan on favorable terms to Armenia’s government that was signed on June 26, reportedly for the purchase of Russian weapons but leading to speculation that it was a disguised effort to help Armenia cope with its electricity crisis.

Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Ara Nazarian rejected talk of any connection between the “export credit” and the protests, according to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service.

Written by Andy Heil in Prague based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Armenian Service in Yerevan

USA: Armenians protest outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington

July 3, 2015 By administrator

A demonstration was organized on June 28 at the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Washington on the initiative of Armenian community organizations in Greater Washington DC to condemn the continuing military provocations against Baku Armenians and honor the memory of one its latest victims, Arman Yepremyan.
The event coincided with the closing ceremony in Baku European Games. “We are gathered in front of the Azerbaijani embassy today

#ElectricYerevan: Petition in Baghramyan Avenue as public protest continues

July 2, 2015 By administrator

The continuing protests against the rising electricity prices have driven the population of Yerevan’s Baghramyan Avenue to anger, with most complaining about the noise and the inconvenience around.

Most residents have been conducting a petition since Wednesday.
“The [residents] are not able to stand this anymore. We cannot sleep or open a balcony door because of the terrible noise. The much respected demonstrators fail to observe the rules of co-existence,” one of residents told our correspondent.
The Ministry of Healthcare has also issued a warning, asking the demonstrators to be conscientious and circumspect not to hamper the ambulance service’s work.
“Lost moments may at time turn out fatal for an individual needing an emergency medical aid. And we can never rule out that the individual in question may be the relative of any one of us or we ourselves,” reads its statement.
Drivers of public transport also complain about the difficulties and inconvenience.
Speaking to Tert.am, President of the Association of Passenger Carriers Hrant Yeghiazaryan said all drivers demand urgent measure for restoring the regular operation of traffic routes.
“We are facing enormous problems due to the closed street. The passenger transportation process is derailed, with the microbuses waiting for hours in traffic jams. And less people use [public transport],” he said.

Electrified: Yerevan protest kept alive as new leadership emerges

July 2, 2015 By administrator

Despite dwindling numbers of participants in their daily rallies activists occupying one of Yerevan’s central boulevards have been keeping up the pressure of their protests against rising electricity prices.

As new leaders took over coordination of the Baghramyan Avenue protest dubbed Electric Yerevan the campaign vowed to continue to press the authorities to revoke their controversial decision to raise electric power tariffs by more than 16 percent beginning August 1.

A group of protesters led by initial organizers, a civil initiative called No To Plunder, left the protest site after President Serzh Sargsyan offered a “compromise” plan to defuse tensions last weekend, suggesting that the government will subsidize the hike pending an international audit of Armenia’s power grid run by a Russian-owned company.

But a majority of protesters remained camped in Baghramyan Avenue, determined to achieve their ultimate goal through a peaceful sit-in.

As the nonstop protest continued Nelly Duryan, a senior police officer in charge of minors’ affairs, visited the site Wednesday evening to get acquainted with the situation and urge parents not to allow their underage children to come to the protest venue, especially alone.

A number of activists confronted the police colonel, saying that their gatherings were peaceful and nothing threatened the children there.

Meanwhile, Duryan also cited the current hot weather conditions as one of the factors to discourage children from attending the rallies.

Meteorologists warned on July 1 that a new heat wave was on its way and that daytime air temperatures in Armenia would climb to 39 degrees centigrade (102F) in the coming days.

Russia warns against ‘colour revolution’ in Armenia #ElectricYerevan

July 2, 2015 By administrator

By Timothy Heritage and Hasmik Mkrtchyan

REUTERS/Narek Aleksanyan/PAN Photo

MOSCOW/YEREVAN (Reuters) – In a veiled warning to the West, Russia cautioned on Thursday against any attempt to spark a new “colour revolution” in Armenia by exploiting protests against electricity prices for political ends.

Large crowds of mostly young people have been protesting in the Armenian capital Yerevan for more than 10 days, demanding the government scrap plans to raise the price of electricity for households.

Russia has been wary of unrest on its borders since governments fell in Georgia’s 2003 Rose Revolution, Ukraine’s 2003-04 Orange Revolution and Kiev’s 2014 Maidan protests – events in which it says the West backed the protesters.

“You know how the ‘colour revolutions’, and the Maidan in Ukraine, started,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a BRICS Youth Summit gathering of young people from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) in Moscow.

“The current developments in Armenia – there is also a temptation among many to use them to whip up anti-government sentiment although the root of these events is purely economic,” Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

“It seems useful for someone to go further and develop these processes in a political way.”

Lavrov said that the West in particular was paying increasing attention to the role of young people in shaping national agendas, including through “peaceful protest”.

His comments were the closest any senior Russian official has come to suggesting the West may have or be seeking a role in the protest in Armenia, which hosts a Russian military base, to pull it further out of Moscow’s orbit.

FEAR OF COLOUR REVOLUTION

Thousands of protesters have been gathering every evening in Yerevan though their numbers dwindle during the day. Police tried to disperse them with water cannon early last week but the protest continued and has been peaceful since then.

The protesters have ignored concessions offered by President Serzh Sargsyan, saying they want the price rise of up to 22 percent planned by the distribution company, a subsidiary of Russian firm Inter RAO, to be scrapped entirely.

The protesters have avoided chanting anti-government slogans, saying their demands are limited to the electricity price dispute, though many also complain about alleged corruption in Armenia.

“I think the process of these protests is largely over – or if not over, heading that way,” Armenian political analyst Alexander Iskandaryan told Reuters in Yerevan.

But Russian leaders fear unrest in neighbouring states could encourage protests in Russia and President Vladimir Putin said last year that Moscow “should do everything necessary” to prevent such a “colour revolution” in Russia.

Armenia, in the southern Caucasus, was once part of the Soviet Union and its 3.2 million people have been hit hard by an economic downturn in Russia, its main ally and trading partner.

It is also part of the Eurasian Economic Union, a political and economic bloc set up by Moscow to try to match the economic strength of the European Union, China and the United States.

The Kremlin has said it is up to Armenia’s government and the protesters to resolve the dispute themselves.

(Additional reporting Margarita Antidze in Tbilisi; Editing by Louise Ireland)

No To Plunder: Still committed to cause, but not blocking avenue anymore #ElectricYerevan

June 30, 2015 By administrator

BY Alina Nikoghosyan ArmeniaNow

Members of the No To Plunder civil initiative think that the sit-in in Baghramyan Avenue is no longer appropriate and new platforms for the resolution of their demands should be found.

The group that initiated protests against rising electricity prices earlier this month told media on Tuesday that it will still be present at the demonstrations in Baghramyan Avenue, but not as coordinators but as Armenian citizens.

On June 28, No To Plunder largely accepted the compromise plan offered by President Serzh Sargsyan to defuse the current crisis and called its supporters to unblock Baghramyan Avenue that remains closed for traffic because of the nonstop protests since June 23. However, the greater part of the protesters stayed there continuing demonstrations. They remain in the area even today.

“Vaghinak [Shushanyan] didn’t manage to read out our decision till the end and it implied that part of the group would stay in Baghramyan Avenue together with the protesters while others would go with those who do not see their struggle here. At this time many people tried to discredit people in Baghramyan Avenue on our behalf, but all of them are our friends and we support them,” Arthur Kocharyan, a member of the initiative, said.

The group members said that their demand didn’t change but No To Plunder would meet different specialists to discuss the president’s proposals.

On Saturday, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that the government will take upon itself the burden of compensating for the electricity price hike from August 1 and suggested commissioning an international audit for Armenia’s power grid. The president also noticed that the initiative members might be included in the process.

“We had stayed in Baghramyan Avenue for quite a long time and our next step would be blocking streets. However, being at the same area all the time proved quite difficult. We cannot succeed by just blocking streets, we need concrete professional help,” Sofya Hovsepyan, the coordinator of the group, said at today’s press conference.

‘No to Plunder’ Organizers End Sit-In While Baghramyan Avenue Protest Continues

June 29, 2015 By administrator

Thousands of people continue to demonstrate on Marshal Bagramian Avenue in Yerevan

YEREVAN—Organizers of the “No to Plunder” movement, who spearheaded the now seven-day-long public protests against electricity rate hikes, announced Monday night that they will suspend a sit-in being staged at Liberty Square that began on Sunday and will hold a press conference to discuss next steps in the continuing fight to reverse the decision to raise electricity prices in Armenia. “No to Plunder” activists pledged their support to protesters on Baghramyan Avenue who are continuing their demonstration into the eighth day.

Saying that they are part of the ongoing protest on Baghramyan Avenue and speaking on behalf of the “No to Plunder” movement, Vaghinak Shoushanyan read a statement announcing the group’s decision to halt the sit-in at the Opera house and to hold an anticipated press conference.

“The government has taken a half step back,” said Shoushanyan, saying that the decision to conduct a far-reaching audit was a “half” step back for the government, while his group’s demands have not yet been met. “It is not one step forward for us, but a half step back for the government,” said Shoushanyan.

The awkward duality in the protests emerged Sunday after Yerevan police amassed the largest show of force since the beginning of the Baghramyan Avenue protests last Monday. Rows of officers wearing riot gear and red beret special forces began surrounding the perimeter of the protests, with police leaders threatening to break up the gathering by force.

This prompted the “No to Plunder” organizers to issue an announcement urging the group to move to the Opera at Liberty Square to begin what they called “public deliberations” on the next steps of the movement. Only several hundred protesters joined the “No to Plunder” movement on its march to Liberty Square, with the majority of protesters opting to stay on Baghramyan Avenue.

Speaking to protesters on Sunday, Shoushanyan cited the risk of renewed violent clashes with police as well as President Sarkisian’s announcement on Saturday that the government would temporarily absorb the costs of the energy price hikes as the impetus for the group’s decision to move to Liberty Square.

“By staying here longer we won’t be physically prepared to endure more police beatings and jets of water,” Shoushanyan told the crowd Sunday, adding that the group continued its solidarity with the Baghramyan Avenue gathering, but was not prepared to take on organizing responsibilities.

In his statement on Monday, Shoushanyan urged all experts in the field—attorneys, engineers, political officials—to join the proposed audit to ensure that a comprehensive process would be enacted to address the issue.

He pledged his group’s solidarity with the protesters on Baghramyan Avenue once again, saying that the group was prepared to take to the streets at any given time, if their demands of reversing the electricity price hike were not met fully.

Meanwhile on Baghramyan Avenue, protesters in large numbers continued to remain steadfast in their resolve, and pledged to continue the fight in a peaceful and organized manner without hindering rule of law, prompting law enforcement agencies to stand down and allowing the protest to progress. As of this writing, thousands of protesters continued to remain on Baghramyan Avenue.

What began as a weekend-long sit-in on June 19 by the “No to Plunder” movement has morphed into a demonstration attended by thousands on Baghramyan Avenue, steps away from the presidential offices on Monday, June 22.

On June 23, Yerevan police deployed water cannons and brute force to disperse the protesters from the street. The violence, however, did not deter the protesters, who returned to Baghramyan Avenue in greater numbers. The violent outburst by the police also prompted political officials, artists, and intellectuals to join the protests nightly to form a human shield against the police and to ensure that violence would not be used against the peaceful protesters.

Report: asbarez