6th pan-Armenian GAMES Magical opening ceremony in Yerevan yesterday

August 3, 2015 By administrator

Last night in a Republican stage invaded by thousands of enthusiastic spectators ran magical opening ceremony of 6th Summer Pan Armenian Games. Delegations from nearly 200 cities marched into the stadium under the audience’s applause. The ceremony was broadcast live in the direction of more than a hundred countries by the public chain of Armenia. This is the gymnast Albert Avariant, triple Olympic champion who entered the stage with the flame of Pan Armenian Games lit it. These pan-Armenian games dedicated to 100th anniversary of Armenian genocide are those records. Most participants, with 6352 Armenian sportsmen from five continents. Most of sports with 17 disciplines. These games taking place from August 3 to 13 in Yerevan but also in Stepanakert (Nagorno Karabakh), in Gyumri, Abovyan, Vanatsor, Ardachat and Echmiadzin. Tens of thousands of tourists from the diaspora are present in Armenia on the occasion of the 6th pan-Armenian Games which bring together the Armenian youth around the world of sports and games. Finally, note the presence of several mayors and elected Turkish cities such as Diyarbakir and Van. News.am Photos (partly).

Krikor Amirzayan

Armenia Public Services Regulatory Commission to invite consulting companies to study advisability of electricity price rise

July 27, 2015 By administrator

The Public Services Regulatory Commission held a meeting on Monday approved an invitation to consultations on operation of Armenia’s electric energy system.

The Commission approved the decision in the context of Armenian President Serzh Sagsyan’s statement at a meeting with officials in charge of Armenia’s economic policy on June 27, 2015, with a view to raising the level of public confidence in the Commission and ruling out any comments on the legal or economic grounds for an electricity price rise.

In conformity with the decision, the Commission’s working group has been instructed to send out invitations to the best five international consulting companies and, within three days after the deadline for their offers expires, sum up their offers and present the results to the government staff.

According to the decision, the consultations are supposed to provide reasonable answers to the following questions: Is a planned electricity price rise justified? Is no raising electricity prices a potential threat to Armenia’s energy system?

A consulting company is to conduct an in-depth survey of different options of reducing electricity prices, considering the relevant regional and international procedures and present a list of priority measures as soon as possible.

After the two phases, considering unfolding discussions of the 2016-2036 strategic energy sector development program and a need to compare the results, the consulting company may be involved in further development of a long-term strategic program and in relevant consultations.

Yerevan Electric: The Washington Post: Who lost and who won after protests in Armenia?

July 26, 2015 By administrator

By Zhanna Andreasyan and Georgi Derluguian Report Washington Post

(Davit Abrahamyan/PAN Photo via AP)

Early on Saturday, June 27, 2015, dancing and singing demonstrators protesting a hike in electricity prices blocked the Armenian capital’s main avenue Friday for a fifth straight day. (Davit Abrahamyan/PAN Photo via AP)

Armenia, a small traditionally pro-Russian former Soviet republic, has just experienced a spectacular eruption of mass protests. On the surface, it was against a fairly minor increase in electricity rates. In Moscow, however, conservative journalists sounded alarms, alleging that America was attempting another “regime change” in Russia’s underbelly.

Sociology might offer a less conspiratorial explanation. Big protest movements often appear to be so sudden and spontaneous because they build upon citizens’ prior “micro-mobilizations” around local issues, which took place below the mainstream media’s radar screen. The events in Armenia followed this dynamic.

On June 17, the Armenian government approved a 16.9 percent increase in electricity prices. The next day, a few hundred young people staged a sit-in near Yerevan’s opera house, the traditional site of popular protests since the days of perestroika in the late 1980s. It was widely rumored that the price increase was only to cover up waste and corruption. Their slogan was as emotional as it was vague: No to Robbery!

The original protest seemed easily ignored, so in the evening of June 22, the protesters occupied Marshal Baghramyan Avenue, Yerevan’s main thoroughfare, where both the parliament and presidential palace are located. Monumental traffic jams ensured that Yerevan’s citizens felt this immediately. Curiously, a majority of Yerevantsis did not seem to mind the inconvenience.

Early on June 23, the Armenian police — claiming that they were clearing the obstacles to city traffic — dispersed the demonstrators with water cannons and briefly detained 237 of them.

At this news, Yerevan seemed to explode. Much as had happened in Kiev’s Euromaidan in November 2013, police action provoked a blowback. Now thousands flocked into Baghramyan, including the local media and sports celebrities merrily posing for pictures and taking selfies. Only a couple months earlier, and virtually on the same spot, the Armenian American pop personality Kim Kardashian had been picturing herself during her tour of the ancestral homeland to commemorate the victims of the 1915 Turkish genocide.

The Armenian history of victimhood matters in the classical sense of Durkheimian theory: External conflict fosters cohesion within social groups. Extraordinary conflict, like the memories of genocidal extermination, fosters extraordinary cohesion. This helps explain why, after the first clash had backfired so badly, Armenian authorities carefully avoided using force against fellow Armenians. The protest movement thus obtained its window of political opportunity.

In the following weeks, the protesters stayed behind the barricades of chained trashcans while the police patiently stood in phalanx behind their shields a few paces away. To relieve the psychological tension and plain boredom of protracted face-off, the crowd kept on dancing, waving Armenian flags, making impromptu speeches almost round the clock. All this was broadcast live by Web-based TV channels. For the duration, the safety and fun reigning on Baghramyan Avenue seemed to make it less a protest rally than a popular destination for Yerevantsis’ evening promenades.

ARMENIA Seven police officers subject to disciplinary measures to police brutality in Yerevan

July 14, 2015 By administrator

Police authorities in Yerevan have submitted to disciplinary action of the agents of the security forces had used force against the protesters movement Electric Yerevan during a load June 23 to dislodge the avenue Marshal Baghramian which they protested against rising electricity rates. These sanctions, revealed by the internal services of the police department on July 13, aim a dozen policemen. By order of the Head of the

Armenia: Hayk Demoyan “every day of Turkish citizens visiting the Genocide Museum of Yerevan”

July 10, 2015 By administrator

Hayk Demoyan

In his speech on 8 July at the 12th meeting in Yerevan on the theme of genocide of the 20th century of the International Association of Genocide scholars, Hayk Demoyan, director of the Museum of the Armenian Genocide claimed that almost every day Turkish citizens visited the Genocide Museum in Yerevan. “Today it is still 4 Turkish citizens who have visited (…) we are encouraged to see that among the visitors, they want to know their own history. We must also be willing to work with civil society in Turkey. It’s very important, “said director of the Museum of the Armenian Genocide.

Krikor Amirzaya

‘No To Plunder’ Not To Be Involved in ENA Audit #ElectricYerevan

July 9, 2015 By administrator

Leaders of the “No To Plunder” movement hold a press conference in Yerevan on June 30 (Source: Photolure)

YEREVAN (Mediamax)—The “No To Plunder” movement has decided not to take part in the international audit to be conducted at the Electric Networks of Armenia (ENA), according to statements made by members of the group to Mediamax.

An organizer of the “No to Plunder” movement, Sofia Hovsepyan, told Mediamax that their decision was preceded by discussions on the expediency of their involvement with various specialists, among them representatives and lawyers of international audit firms.

“After the discussions, we concluded that our presence would not ensure the transparency of the audit process. Logically, specialists conducting the audit deal with quite serious numbers and no international auditor will let us be present at the entire process. We will have to wait till the auditors step out of the room and present a certain result to us, which equals to presenting those results to the public, outside of those walls. It will create the impression that we have controlled the process and have seen that everything is ‘normal,’” said Hovsepyan.

According to her, the state’s proposal to allow activists to be involved in the audit group “was nothing but a formal step.”

Hovsepyan stressed that “No to Plunder” is against conducting an international audit of the ENA.

“The results of the audits conducted at the ENA have testified to the ineffective work of the company, and the latter has not taken any measure, except increasing electricity tariffs, to prevent it. We already have the results of the audits conducted over the past years. Additional money will be spent on this planned audit, which mainly aims to make it clear for us that the increase in electricity tariffs is objective,” she said.

“No To Plunder” will officially announce its decision not to be involved in the audit process at a press conference scheduled for next week, where participants will speak about the group’s next steps and demands.

Meanwhile, on July 14, “No To Plunder” will march to the General Prosecutor’s Office demanding that the policemen who used forcibly dispersed protesters participating in a sit-in on Marshal Baghramyan Avenue on June 23 be punished for excessive use of force.

President Serzh Sarkissian had previously called on the protesters “not to refrain from taking on a new responsibility and getting involved in the real process of elaborating the steps, thus reducing the skepticism that rules in the society.”

Hovsepyan noted that other than the President’s statement, “No To Plunder” has not received any official proposal to participate in the audit.

#ElectricYerevan public disobedience campaign – debate

July 9, 2015 By administrator

The developments we see in the Electric Yerevan protests can be described as nothing more than just a civil disobedience campaign, says Edgar Vardanyan, an expert from the Armenian Center of National and International Studies (ACNIS).

“It was very impromptu and not institutionalized; there was a specific goal related to specific government policies. It was not the authorities policies those people were expressing disobedience to, announcing that they wanted to change the regime and establish rule of law. They just wanted to have a specific decision changed,” he told reporters on Thursday.
Vardanyan said he thinks that the goal was very clearly reflected in the demonstrators’ slogans and activists’ speeches.
“They weren’t saying, ‘we complain about the hike’; it all had to do with the corrupt system that caused all that to happen, with the decision-making being non-transparent and ruling out citizens’ participation,” he added.
Analyzing further the popular movement’s structure, the expert said he sees that most of its participants are young people with average income.

Source: tert.am

Armenia: Decision to fine power giant aimed to cover debts? #ElectricYerevan

July 8, 2015 By administrator

The public regulator’s decision to fine the Electric Networks of Armenia is an attempt to cover the existing debts, says an activist of the civic group “No to Plunder”.

“I do not practically insist on that, but it’s quite possible that by fining the Electric Networks they will take the money from them to pay off the company’s debts,” Vaghinak Shushanyan told Tert.am, commenting on the decisions made by the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC). Report tert.am

Describing the move as just a show for the society, the activists said he expects a lot more scenarios of the kind until the end of the promised auditing. “They have to try to throw dust in the society’s eyes …” he added.

In its session on Wednesday, the Commission imposed a fine totaling AMD 60 million (over $125,000) on the power giant in 11 different decisions. The meeting was also attended by Yevgeny Bibin, the company’s Russian chief executive.

Maxim Sargsyan, another activist of the group, also agrees that the decision is part of a political show.

“Naturally, it is a show, a belated decision which the PSRC should have made long ago, without waiting for pressure,” he told our correspondent.

Vice-Chairman of the Heritage party Armen Arustamyan shared the opinion.

According to him, it is “crying over spilt milk.”

“The show is going on, and it does not mean anything. The people have stood up, and steps being made can by no means influence the general process. They can only do something ‘post factum’ as if they were interested,” Mr Martirosyan said.

“The Electric Networks of Armenia company should have been fined two or three years ago, when it was accumulating debts because of mismanagement and there was a need for reforms, modernizing substations.”

Crossbencher Edmon Marukyan welcomes the step by the Public Services Regulatory Commission.

According to him, the public must demand even more.

Armenia: 4 youth join Yerevan Council member on hunger strike #ElectricYerevan

July 8, 2015 By administrator

YEREVAN. – Four 19-year-olds that are participating in the sit-in at Liberty Square, in Armenia’s capital city of Yerevan, have joined the ongoing hunger strike by member of the opposition “Barev [Hello], Yerevan” faction at Yerevan Council, activist Davit Sanasaryan.

These youth told Armenian News-NEWS.am that their hunger strike is for an indefinite period, and that they will continue it until people assemble at Liberty Square and they achieve their ultimate goal: the revoking of the recent decision to raise the price of electricity in the country.

The youth on hunger strike added that they are fighting against this electricity price hike ever since the first days of the respective demonstrations.

Yerevan police on Monday dispersed the demonstrators that had closed down Baghramyan Avenue—which leads to the Office of the President—for the past two weeks. Subsequently, the protesters assembled at Liberty Square, where their demonstration had initially started. They also wanted to hold a march, but the police did not allow it. Many protesters are staying at the square overnight.

Leaders #electricYerevan avoid the standoff with authorities

July 7, 2015 By administrator

Several hundred Armenians protesting against rising electricity prices have again gathered in Yerevan on Monday night hours after being driven Avenue Bargramian by riot police, but they have avoided reoccupy a major artery of the city.

The gathering in the pedestrian area of the Liberty Square (at the opera) began shortly after police released 46 protesters who were stopped early Monday afternoon when dismantling by police (without water cannon or baton) of a barricade that marked the territory of the non-stop protest installed on the avenue Bagramyan Marshal for two weeks.

People interpelées belong to the group of current leaders of the movement “electric Yerevan” that brought the Armenian government to suspend the 17% increase of energy prices.

Youth leaders affirmed their commitment to continue the movement. But citing the need to avoid further clashes with the police, they gave up starting a new march toward the avenue of Marshal Bagramyan, preferring to call a demonstration in the city center on Thursday.

“We need to rest,” said Narek Ayvazyan, one of the activists, Armenian service of RFE / RL (Azatutyun.am), arguing that he and his comrades are exhausted by non-stop sit-in on the avenue leading to the residence of President Serzh Sargsyan.

“I promise you that we will again go void Bagramyan” said another leader of “electric Yerevan” Davit Sanasarian, the demonstrators. “The police, the authorities are really afraid.”

Sanasarian at the same time regretted that only a small number of people took part in demonstrations last week, which according to him is not enough to move the Armenian authorities. He announced that he would begin a hunger strike in order to draw attention of the population and encourage them to join more heavily in the campaign.

“We are waiting for you,” said another speaker, calling on the nation. “All Armenians should get up for this fight.”

The demonstrations had attracted thousands of people until President Serzh Sargsyan announced on June 27 that the government will bear the increased cost of electricity prices until the results of an audit on service electricity from Armenia. The audit is to determine whether the unpopular measure is economically justified or results of fraud and mismanagement with the Russian company that owns it.

Dozens of protesters tried to march into the evening, but they were stopped by police deployed in the square. The leaders of “electric Yerevan” were not among them.