Armenians resume protest one week before electricity rate hike
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 27 July 2015 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Armenians resume protest one week before electricity rate hike, 27 July 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/55ee961e15.html [accessed 28 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
July 27, 2015
By RFE/RL's Armenian Service
Dozens of people protesting against rising electricity tariffs have gathered on a central square of the Armenian capital, Yerevan.
Police on July 27 responded by setting up barricades to prevent protesters from occupying a grassy area in the center of the city's main square.
Earlier, activists with the Arise Armenia pressure group announced a five-day "street blocking" campaign lasting until July 31 in their latest bid to force the government to cancel a decision to raise electricity rates by 16 percent as of August 1.
Most of the protesters left the streets earlier this month after the government promised to fully subsidize the rates hike pending the outcome of an international audit of the Russian-owned company that runs Armenia's power grid.
On July 6, police dismantled barricades that the protesters had set up on Baghramian Avenue.
The small, radical Arise Armenia group, however, continues to demand the government rescind its rate-hike decision and that it punish police officers responsible for a violent June 23 attempt to break up the demonstration.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
