YEREVAN. – After Republic Square, members of the “Dem Em [I am against]” civic initiative, which opposes the new pension law in Armenia, are now driving, with several dozen cars, around Abovyan Grove in downtown capital city Yerevan on Thursday.
Just like at Republic Square, and using a loudspeaker, the activists are notifying the people about their large rally, which will be held at Liberty Square on Saturday.
A large number of police officers met the activists near the statue of great Armenian writer Khachatur Abovyan, the Armenian News-NEWS.am reporter informed.
Despite the risk of being fined, the participants in the car rally are sounding their vehicles’ horns all through the event. In addition, ordinary drivers express their support by likewise sounding their car horns.
The car rally, however, has caused traffic jams in the main streets of Downtown Yerevan.
The initiative members will drive around Khachatur Abovyan’s statue for about half an hour and, subsequently, they will drive to Mashtots Avenue, and then head back to work.
The police officers approached the drivers and thanked them, on behalf of Police Chief Vladimir Gasparyan, for holding the car rally within the limits of the law.
The new funded pension plan, which formally came into force in Armenia on January 1, 2014, is mandatory for those born in and after 1974 and voluntary for those born before 1974. In line with this plan, 5 to 10 percent of the monthly salaries in Armenia will be deducted and mandatorily be allocated to cumulative pension funds; the latter will be reimbursed as pensions once a person turns 63 years old.
On January 24, however, the Constitutional Court decided to suspend the execution of some components in the Law on Funded Pensions pending the hearing—on March 28—of the petition submitted by the four non-ruling-coalition parliamentary forces—the Armenian National Congress, Prosperous Armenia, ARF Dashnaktsutyun, and Heritage—, and into the constitutionality of the several articles of the law.
Notwithstanding this, some employers already are deducting the mandatory pension payment from the salaries of their employees.
Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am
