Policemen drive their special equipment away from Bagramyan Avenue in Yerevan

Special equipment, including water cannons, has been removed from Bagramyan Avenue in central Yerevan, where activists protest against the increase of the electricity tariff. However, the police said that the equipment may be brought back to the place of protest.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since June 19 Armenia has been holding mass protest actions against the decision of the Commission on Regulation of Public Services (CRPS) to increase the electricity tariff for citizens of the country. The largest protest is the round-the-clock action in Bagramyan Avenue in Yerevan.

Currently, the situation in Bagramyan Avenue is calm; some 20-30 protesters are still there, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

Valery Osipyan, the Deputy Head of the Yerevan Police, has noted that the protesters have illegally restricted the right to freedom of travel of other citizens; and to the question of whether the police rule out the use of force, he said: "Although the law allows, but as you can see, nothing is done", the "NEWS.am" reports.

Although the protest action in Bagramyan Avenue continues, during the last three days the number of participants has been steadily decreasing, writes the Armenian newspaper "168 Hours". It is not that the majority of the protesters believe that their demands are fulfilled; just for a few days the protest action has been at the inertia phase, which, if it fails to get new content, may negate the wave of civil fight; and the authorities in recent days have taken a wait and see tactics, the newspaper notes.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.