Police give protesters until 12.30 to unblock Baghramyan Avenue
Police in Armenia have issued a statement saying that today they will restore traffic disrupted in Yerevan’s Baghramyan Avenue for nearly two weeks amid ongoing protests against electricity price hikes in the Armenian capital. The police also said they will remove all items, including dumpsters, obstructing traffic on the road “Though the police had repeatedly urged the organizers and participants of the illegal rally to unblock the avenue, the appeals have been ignored by protesters. However, the police warn the organizers and participants of the rally for the last time to unblock the avenue until 12.30, otherwise, the police will exercise the powers granted to the Armenian law enforcement agencies by law," the police said in a statement adding that they do not intend to end the demonstration with their actions or hinder its normal case, if the demonstration continues in a non-trafficable section of the avenue. Protesters issued an ultimatum to the authorities over the weekend to comply with their demand and revoke the electricity price hike by Monday evening, saying otherwise they would see advancement of their barricades towards the Presidential Palace. David Sanasaryan, a coordinator of the protest, again listed the three demands to Serzh Sargsyan as he spoke to the crowd of activists and supporters on Saturday evening. Those include revoking the decision of the Public Services Regulatory Commission to raise electricity prices by 6.93 drams; punishing police officers who ordered and committed violence against protesters and journalists in the June 23 crackdown; lowering the current electricity tariffs.
