YEREVAN. – The first discussion of the public commission, which will be formed by the civic initiative—and which will examine the public transport problems—will be held on Friday, October 4.

Ani Kaghinyan, who is one of the persons behind the aforesaid initiative, stated abovementioned during a press conference on Saturday.

She informed that independent experts, and representatives from Armenia’s state-run institutions, international institutions, and embassies in Armenia will be invited to take part in the activities of this commission.

“The commission, which [capital city Yerevan Mayor] Taron Margaryan had formed yesterday [i.e., Friday], included Henrik Navasardyan. My friends are staging a sit-in for sixty consecutive days so that he would be dismissed, but Taron Margaryan allows himself to include criminal Henrik Navasardyan in the commission. It is unlawful from the very beginning. The civic initiative finds that this commission is not a normal commission,” Kaghinyan said.    

The civic initiative boycotts the aforementioned commission and stresses that a large cross-section of the society is not represented in it.         

To note, a group of activists—who had started a sit-in on July 26—have several demands, which include the dismissals of Municipality Transport Department Chief Henrik Navasardyan and Yerevan Trans Company Director Misak Hambardzumyan.     

As Armenian News-NEWS.am informed earlier, the Yerevan Municipality recent decision to increase the public transport fares in the city had brought about outbursts, several groups were formed in the social networks, and the initiatives were staging protests and distributing pamphlets against this decision. In addition, the Free Car initiative was launched, along the lines of which Armenia’s numerous well-known personalities, MPs, and ordinary residents were providing—with their own vehicles—free transportation to the people.

And on July 25, Mayor Taron Margaryan suspended the decision on the fare hike; but the wave of the aforesaid movement is still alive. The activists demand that the persons, who made the decision on raising the transport fares, be brought to account, and those officials, who used violence against and cursed at the activists, be punished.                     

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am