When Armenians protest and fight

PanARMENIAN.Net - Such incidents are not peculiar to the Armenian society. However, the population has experience of mass protests against authorities, which either succeeded or failed. PanARMENIAN.Net will remind of some of them.

Struggle for Mashtots Park

In January 2012, Yerevan city administration started installing kiosks in Mashtots Park for their further use as clothes shops. The decision caused mass protests of activists who initiated a movement to defend the Park and prevent destruction of the green zone. The protest lasted till May, when President Serzh Sargsyan visited the site and ordered removal of the kiosks. On May 13, 2014, during the visit of France’s President Francois Holland in Armenia, the Park was renamed to honor French Resistance hero Misak Manushyan.

Struggle against transport price hike

In July 2013, the price for public transport users in Yerevan was raised from AMD 100 to AMD 150, arousing a wave of social indignation. Protest actions were held during a week. Activists distributed leaflets calling on residents to pay the usual price, while many passengers continued to pay AMD 100. Some car owners offered their vehicles as transport means, carrying people on the way free of charge. As a result, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan nullified the decision, saying “we can’t pay for transport with human lives”. Currently, the transport fee is AMD 100.

Shant Harutyunyan’s case

On November 5, 2013, Tseghakron party leader Shant Harutyunyan and his supporters, armed with clubs and bars, took to streets, blocking Mashtots Avenue. After police’s demand to free the way, the demonstrators took out firecrackers and threw it on the ground. A criminal case was initiated. Out of 38 detained, 20 were further put into custody and 18 were interrogated as witnesses. Harutyunyan as sentenced to 6 years in prison.

Hayk Kyureghyan fires at police officers

On June 12, 2014, Yerevan resident, Hayk Kyureghyan, 34, jumped up one of the cars parked near the premises of Kentron administrative district, saying that there is a bomb in the vehicle. After that, ignoring the police officers’ demands, he opened fire, injuring several of them. In September 2015, he was sentenced to 9 years in jail. One of the men, who are currently occupying the police headquarters in Erebuni, is his brother – Areg Kyureghyan.

Avetisyan family murder

The murder of the 7-member Avetisyan family in Gyumri on January 12, 2015, triggered a wave of mass protests demanding that the suspect, Russian soldier Valery Permyakov, be tried by Armenian court. The crowd gathered at the Russian embassy in Yerevan, which was cordoned by police. Several explosions were heard during the protest, with stones thrown at the police officers.

After the family funeral, Armenia’s prosecutor general Gevorg Kostanyan pledged to officially request the Russian authorities to transfer Permyakov to the Armenian law enforcement bodies. However, this promise did not stop the protesters, who marched to the Russian consulate in Gyumri, where new clashes erupted. On January 13, Permyakov was detained by Russian border guards when trying to cross the border with Turkey. He pleaded guilty during the interrogation. On August 12, 2015, he was convicted for walkout with a weapon, theft and illegal usage of firearms and ammunition. He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment. The case was transferred to the Armenian side.

Electric Yerevan

In June 2015, thousands of protesters took to the streets of Yerevan to protest a planned 17% hike in electricity prices. Protesters demanding the government rescind the price hikes began blocking Baghramyan Avenue. Dubbed “Electric Yerevan,” the protests drew global attention when protesters resisted police attempts to clear the avenue in the early hours of June 23. While images and video of the crackdown spread across the media, similar protests began to erupt across the country. On June 27, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had come to a deal where the government would cover the cost of the electric company’s debt instead of raising electricity prices.

On June 24, 2016, the Public Services Regulatory Commission of Armenia decreed to lower the price with AMD 2.58 from August 1, 2016.