YEREVAN. – The civic activists, who by prior agreement gathered in front of Armenia’s capital city Yerevan Municipality on Tuesday at 1pm, did not find their three friends—Vahagn Minasyan, Suren Sahakyan, and Gor Arakelyan—that are staging a sit-in across the city hall for already three months.  

The police officers patrolling the municipality building informed that they, too, have not seen the three activists.

Civic activist Max Sargsyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am that the vehicle, in which the three activists were sleeping, their belongings, and the posters demanding the dismissals of Henrik Navasardyan and Misak Hambardzumyan are still there, but the three activists are missing.  

No contact can be established with the activists, and their relatives likewise said they do not know anything about their whereabouts.

To note, the deadline for the three activists’ seven-day ultimatum to the city hall expires on Tuesday. The activists had announced that if the municipality did not meet their demand as of Thursday, October 29, they will stop their sit-in and take drastic actions.     

To remind, 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.