Armenian protesters still defying police after tense night #ElectricYerevan

June 29, 2015 By administrator

(Karo Sahakyan/PAN Photo via AP)

YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) — A couple of hundred demonstrators remain on a central avenue in Armenia’s capital, defying police orders to disperse and end their weeklong protest against higher electricity rates.

The unrest is the most serious that the impoverished former Soviet nation has seen in years.

After the Armenian president promised to suspend the rate hikes by the Russian-owned power company, riot police came out in force late Sunday and ordered the protesters to disperse.

About 2,000 of them went peacefully, but several thousand others refused and the mood was tense. The police, however, did not move against the protesters and thousands stayed through the night.

On Monday morning, as usual, a smaller number remained. They refused a police request to remove a barricade of trash containers placed across the road.

Protesters’ victory unprecedented – Artyom Markosyan #ElectricYerevan Video

June 28, 2015 By administrator

Showman Artyom Markosyan, who was in Baghramyan Avenue on Sunday morning, has commented on the “No to plunder” civil initiative’s protests against rising electricity prices and on the Armenian authorities’ response.

He believes that a government official must arrive at Baghramyan Avenue and make a statement.

In response to a remark that Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, quoting President Serzh Sargsyan, made a statement at a meeting with the protesters, Mr Markosyan said:

“If so, well and good. But if government officials can arrive, let them do. The most important is to prevent any provocations and politicizing, because the president and the government have found a solution,” he told Tert.am.

According to him, the protesters have won.

“Yes, it is unprecedented because all people can see that nothing like this – gaining a victory by holding peaceful events on young people’s initiative – has ever taken place in this country. Yes, it is a victory,” Mr Markosyan said.

https://youtu.be/3LB4z65M4Ak

Yerevan, Lawmakers, public figures form “human wall” between police, protesters

June 24, 2015 By administrator

By GOHAR ABRAHAMYAN, ArmeniaNow reporter

Not on stages with loudspeakers, not in the role of leaders or dictators, but in the role of a human wall between citizens expressing their civil discontent and the police tasked with maintaining public order – this is what the role of politicians, priests and Armenian celebrities look like during current civil protests.

After the violent breakup of their protest on Tuesday morning, thousands of civil activists regrouped and gathered again in Baghramyan Avenue in central Yerevan last night to continue their campaign against rising electricity prices.

Activists’ standoff with police continued into Wednesday as they barricaded themselves with dustbins.

Unlike the day before when no politicians were seen among the protesters, in the small hours of Wednesday both opposition and pro-government lawmakers appeared in the epicenter of the events.

The appeal to create a human wall was made by opposition lawmaker Nikol Pashinyan late on Tuesday as he urged all former and current MPs, scholars, show-biz representatives, lawyers, reporters, religious representatives and other public figures to visit the standoff site in order to ensure no force is applied against the protesters.

“The wall is built with one aim and one slogan: violence must be excluded, none of the parties should apply force,” Pashinyan said.

A number of prominent Armenian politicians and public figures responded to the appeal.

Even some representatives of the ruling Republican (RPA) party, including Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan and MP Samvel Farmanyan, came to Baghramyan Avenue during the night. However, the civil activists were clearly irritated by their appearance as they demanded that the pro-government politicians leave.

The politicians’ presence, however, was not accepted unanimously by the protestors. Activist Armen Mkrtchyan said, “Where were they the previous morning when we were being beaten?”

Meanwhile, former MP, political analyst Stepan Safaryan said he was glad about the fact that Ashotyan and others were on Baghramyan Avenue.

“It means – 1. The police will not take up any measures tonight (a decision on the highest level was made), the youth and the people will be safe and in the territory they occupy 2. The government is quite scared by the movement and by the international community, and it is trying to find grounds of communication with the movement, especially after the proposal for negotiations was rejected twice. 3. [President] Serzh Sargsyan will meet the demand, thus there he needs people who will welcome a constructive and negotiating president,” the political analyst wrote on his Facebook account.

Wednesday morning was calm on Baghramyan Avenue where activists together with opposition MPs Pashinyan and Tevan Poghosyan were cleaning up the territory of the boulevard after the night.

Early in the morning Armenian Deputy Chief of Police, Colonel Hunan Poghosyan said that the police will not take up any special measures for now because the protest is of a peaceful nature.

Glendale: Protesters assemble at Americana after mall’s handling of apparel referencing Armenian Genocide

March 15, 2015 By administrator

By Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com and Sameea Kamal, sameea.kamal@latimes.com

Elin Nazarian, who works at Shop1915.com, holds up a t-shirt for a prospective buyer at the Americana at Brand in Glendale on Friday, March 13, 2015

About 50 people, most of them Armenian-Americans, gathered at the Americana at Brand Friday evening wearing T-shirts that referenced the Armenian Genocide — shirts the outdoor mall’s management allegedly told the vendor to stop displaying before reversing their decision and issuing an apology on social media.

They were there in protest of the management’s decision, which recently came to light.

At around 6:30 p.m., protesters began assembling around the Brand Boulevard entrance. They walked inside the Americana and went, first, to the booth where the T-shirts were being sold.

PHOTOS: Quiet protest takes place at Americana over Armenian Genocide apparel

The T-shirts and hoodies were not on display because one of the owners of the business, Tina Chuldzhyan, said she still has not received a personal apology from Caruso Affiliated.

Later, the protesters walked in a circle around the outdoor mall.

Ara Manoogian, founder of the blog “The Truth Must be Told,” organized the event, which was meant to be a peaceful gathering. He said participants were handing out fliers with an article written about the controversy by an Armenian publication.

“The overall goal, at this stage, is to get an explanation from Americana management because there’s been a lot of inconsistencies,” Manoogian said, adding that if Americana officials want to show they’re sorry, they could host an event commemorating the centennial of the Armenian genocide because they’ve organized other events celebrating heritage, such as the Chinese Lunar New Year.

Glendale police officers were walking around the mall during the protest, but there was no confrontation with the protesters.

Source: Glendale news press

Police, Kurd protesters clash in Turkey’s Tunceli

November 29, 2014 By administrator

Turkish police and security forces have clashed with Kurds demonstrating against a controversial visit by the country’s main nationalist leader in the eastern city of Tunceli.

Clashes erupted on Friday after Kurdish protesters blocked roads to prevent Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), from heading to Cemevi, an Alawite prayer house in the city.

The protesters were angry over Bahçeli’s contentious remarks regarding a notorious massacre in Tunceli about seven decades ago.

Anti-riot police used tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators who responded by throwing stones at the police.

A group of protesters attempted to march to the governor’s office building to show their anger over the visit.

The protest forced Bahçeli to cut short his trip and return south to the city of Elazığ.

He had earlier described the protests in Tunceli in the late 1930s as a rebellion and labeled the Kurd ancestors who participated in the events as terrorists.

Tunceli, formerly known as Dersim Province, witnessed the mass killing of Kurd protesters in 1937 and 1938 by Turkish police. Thousands of Kurds were killed and many others were internally displaced during their protests against Turkey’s Resettlement Law of 1934.

USA Hundreds of fast-food protesters arrested while striking against low wages

September 5, 2014 By administrator

Protesters in more than 100 US cities conduct sit-ins and marches outside restaurants to call for a $15 minimum wage Protesters demanding higher wages and unionization for fast food workers march on Thursday in New York.Photograph: Andrew Burton/Getty Images

A nationwide protest against low wages in the US fast-food industry culminated in hundreds of arrests on Thursday, as activists stepped up their campaign for higher pay and better benefits for workers at companies such as McDonald’s, Burger King and KFC.

Protesters in more than 100 cities including Chicago, New York and Detroit took part in sit-ins and marches outside fast-food restaurants, with many conducting acts of civil disobedience designed to get them arrested.

Many fast-food jobs pay little more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Thursday’s day of action called for a minimum wage of at least $15.

By the afternoon organisers reported police had arrested 436 people nationwide with more than 43 arrests in Detroit, 19 in New York City, 23 in Chicago, 10 in Little Rock, Arkansas, and 10 in Las Vegas. Protestors were arrested in New York after blocking traffic in front of a McDonald’s in Times Square. In Los Angeles police warned fast food workers sitting in the street they were part of an “illegal assembly” before arresting them.

“We’re definitely on the upward move because we feel justice is on our side … we can’t wait,” said Douglas Hunter, a McDonald’s worker in Chicago who said he has difficulty supporting his 16-year-old daughter on his hourly wage. “We think this is ridiculous in a country as rich as America.”

Thursday’s strikes were the seventh in a series that began as a local protest in New York two years ago. Each strike has been progressively bigger and organisers credit the movement with focussing the debate on low wage workers and reinvigorating president Barack Obama’s attempts to increase the federal minimum wage.

The latest protests mark a departure from previous efforts with protesters, many of whom were transported to the event by union backers, deliberately getting themselves arrested. So far there have been no reports of injuries.

Turkish police fire teargas at protesters after Erdoğan sworn in

August 29, 2014 By administrator

REUTERS / ISTANBUL

Turkish police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse protesters in central İstanbul who sought to march in protest at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s swearing in as Turkey’s president on Thursday.

Around 200 protesters gathered in the tourist district of Taksim, chanting slogans against Erdoğan and carrying banners saying “Presidency cannot wash away corruption or theft”, local media reported.

Paris Hundreds of protesters against the persecution of Christians in Iraq

July 28, 2014 By administrator

Sunday, July 27, at the Committee’s call to support Iraqi Christians (CSCI), despite the arrival of the Tour de France has stopped some of the streets of the capital, hundreds of people gathered in front of Notre Dame to show their support for Eastern Christians.

Many politicians, especially on the right, made the trip to denounce persecution against Christians in Iraq. Among them, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Claude Goasguen, Roger Karouchi, Rachida Dati, François Pupponi and Philippe Kaltenbach.

The rally was followed by a Mass concelebrated by Father Sabri Anar, the Chaldean parish priest of St. Thomas in Sarcelles.

Letter of the Arabic alphabet “noun”, which corresponds to N in the Latin alphabet, N for Nasrani (Nazarene). Jihadists of EEIL marked the homes of Iraqi Christians, descendants of the Assyrian-Chaldean before, or execute them to convert to Islam or flee.

There would be no more Christians in Mosul.

Hundreds of protesters in the streets against the coming of Erdogan in Vienna (Austria)

June 20, 2014 By administrator

European tour of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan began badly. In Vienna (Austria) where he held his first meeting, the Turkish Prime Minister was greeted by jeers of hundreds of protestors Armenians, Kurds and Alevis, Kurds waving Armenian flags. According CNNTurk, held on Pratestern instead of Vienna, demonstrators crowd headed for the Donazernourm place with Armenian flags, Kurdish PKK and Austria. Austrians who were many in the crowd of demonstrators. At this event clashes occurred with activists “Turkish Popular European Party.” The police intervened and used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Krikor Amirzayan