#ElectricYerevan: Organizers Look for Solutions as Police Announce they will Clear Baghramyan by Force

Riot police stand ready as Deputy Police Chief Valeri Osipyan warns they will use physical force to clear Baghramyan Avenue.

Armenian police announced that they would restore order on Sunday, June 28 at 11:00 PM following President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement a day earlier, offering potential solutions to the ongoing crisis created by the #ElectricYerevan protests.

The President’s proposal that the government bear the burden of the electricity rate hike until an international audit was conducted, was seen as an insult by the movement. Armenians realized that the hikes will simply be subsidized by them through their taxes.

Vaghinak Shushanyan one of the organizers of the No to Plunder civic initiative addressed the massive crowd gathered on Baghramyan Avenue today at approximately 7:30 PM.

In his address, Shushanyan said that taking into consideration the dire social and economic situation in the country, the deep level of distrust between society and the authorities, and the unprecedented unity created by the protest, they could not take half measures.

He appealed to the masses not to be swayed by political or radical provocations. He said that a public discussion of their next steps would be taken - that is whether to stay on Baghramyan Avenue or move the protest to Liberty Square. However, he went on to say that it was time that the protest moved to the next level and conduct round-the-clock sit-in at the Square.

The protesters were split. Some began chanting “Opera” “Opera” (located at Liberty Square), while others were chanting “Shame” and “Baghramyan.” There was much confusion as people were unsure what to do - stay or move to Liberty Square.

Deputy Police Chief Vladimir Osipyan then addressed the crowd and said that police had shown great restraint during the past week of “illegal protests.” He said that the organizers of #ElectricYerevan had agreed to move the protest to LibertySquare and whoever remained behind would be moved by physical force by police. He also warned parents to remove their children and for pregnant women to also clear the street.

As of 9:00 PM, the tense situation continues on Baghramyan Avenue as several hundred have now moved to Liberty Square. Most of the roads in the center of Yerevan have been blocked off.