YEREVAN. – A representative of the Armenian capital city Yerevan Municipality attempted to negotiate with the participants of the ongoing sit-in across the city hall building, but they turned down the offer for talks.    

Sit-in activist Gor Arakelyan told the aforesaid to Armenian News-NEWS.am. 

Incidentally, there are three sit-in participants—Gor Arakelyan, Suren Sahakyan, and Vahagn Minasyan—and many others come to support them.

“We said we did not come to negotiate, but rather we clearly presented our demands. And when these demands are met, only then we may negotiate. We are ready to fight to the end,” Arakelyan said. 

In his turn, Suren Sahakyan added that they will continue their sit-in until their demands are met.   

To note, the municipality representatives have promised to bring benches for these activists, so they would not sit on the ground. 

But until then, the city hall employees were washing the municipality courtyard, and therefore the sit-in participants were sitting either in an automobile, or on the chairs which they had brought.  

To note, the activists—who are on the fourth day of their sit-in—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.