Movement "Arise, Armenia!" changes tactics of its protests

Activists of "Arise, Armenia!" have blocked Vazgen Sargsyan Street leading to the Republic Square, but policemen squeezed them off the roadway.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that activists split their picket in Revolution Square in Yerevan into two parts aiming to split the policemen present in the square. On July 27, about 50 persons started their picket in Republic Square against the growth of electricity tariff. On the same day, two picketers broke through the police cordon, but were returned to the place of the action by the police. At night, protesters held a sit-in strike in the centre of Republic Square. On July 28, some 25 activists continued their picket.

Today, after the police squeezed the protesters off the roadway, the motor traffic along the street was opened. However, every three minutes, policemen opened the pedestrian crossing; and activists came out onto the roadway again and sat down on the asphalt.

If by doing so protesters want to put policemen out of temper, they will fail, because the police are very patient, said Valery Osipyan, the Deputy Chief of Yerevan Police.

Then, activists changed their tactics and went to different parts of the square. They were followed by policemen.

So far, according to the police, nobody was detained.

Earlier, four protesters managed to run to the centre of the square by breaking through the police cordon. According to activists, when they were brought out of the centre of the square, one of the policemen applied violence to them.

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