Civilnet
Serj Tankian.
Serj Tankian, frontman for the world-famous rock band System of a Down, posted a status on his Facebook page about the electricity protests in Armenia.
Tankian shared a news link of the protests and wrote the following:
“This article below says three things for me: 1) monopolistic foreign owned utility companies should be made a state asset and strictly regulated and audited by an independent panel. 2) Armenia's civic society is burgeoning and 3) previous successful campaigns at peaceful civic disobedience against unjust programs like the rate hike in public transportation have born fruit.”
On June 23, Tankian wrote another Facebook status:
"It seems like the brutal police crackdown with water cannons and beating up people including journalists has predictably brought more people out into the streets of Yerevan today. This was a peaceful sit in. The police had the right to clear it and legally detain people without using undue force. The situation should not be politicized by foreign media or governments. This is a non-political reaction to an endemic economic marginalization of a large segment of the Armenian populace. The government of Armenia should make every effort to ameliorate the economic suffering of its citizens and address this and other concerns."
Serj Tankian is one of the few Diasporan Armenian celebrities, who not only follows the domestic news in Armenia, but is very vocal of the ruling regime’s policies.
Tankian was recently in Armenia to perform a rock concert on April 23, the eve of the centenary of the Armenian Genocide. During that concert he called on authorities to respect rule of law and social justice in the country.
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Citizens launched a three-day sit-in on June 19 at Liberty Square following a decision by the the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) to increase electricity tariffs by approximately 7AMD/kWh on June 17.
On the evening of June 22, after their demands were not met, the protesters marched to the Presidential Palace located on Baghramyan Avenue.
They were warned by Yerevan’s Deputy Police Chief Valeri Osipyan that their march was illegal and that they would be met by police resistance. Not heeding the Police Chief’s admonitions, the demonstrators began walking toward the Presidential Palace where they were met with riot police who had blocked Baghramyan.
Security forces were out in full force along with water canons and other machinery. Faced with the heavy police presence, organizers of the protest decided to continue their sit-in on Baghramyan Avenue.
The mass protest lasted till early morning when riot police began moving towards the crowd using water cannons and batons to disperse protesters. It appears that 237 people are currently being detained in different police stations throughout the city.
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