YEREVAN. – In the early morning hours on Saturday, the water-sprinkler vehicles drove by—about six or seven times—the Armenian capital city Yerevan Municipality building, across which the “We Pay 100 Drams” initiative activists are staging a sit-in, the activists told Armenian News-NEWS.am.      

“Seeing that we were climbing on the grass, they realized that the sprinklers of the grass can be switched on, too,” they said.  

“In addition, the transvestites [from the neighboring] park came [at night]; they were asking questions as to what the problem was. What is noteworthy is that one of them said they were sent to find out the objective of the act,” an activist also stated.    

To note, the activists have a seven-point demand. One of the demands is for the public transport fee to reduce to 50 drams (approx. $0.12) for the next five days, to compensate for the five-day fare hike. They also demand that Mayor Taron Margaryan be brought to account. In addition they demand the dismissal of Municipality Transport Department Chief Henrik Navasardyan and Yerevan Trans Company Director Misak Hambardzumyan, and state that they will not leave the municipality premises until these officials resign.        

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 Thursday, Mayor Taron Margaryan suspended the decision on the fare hike; but the wave of the aforesaid movement is still alive.         

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am