16:15, 28 November 2019

Car dealers' protest in Yerevan accompanied by clashes with law enforcers

Police officers at a protest action in Yerevan. Photo by Tigran Petrosyan for the "Caucasian Knot"

On November 27, protesters blocked a street in Yerevan, demanding to cancel the transfer of the car customs clearance point to Gyumri, and lift the ban on the import of right-hand steering wheel vehicles into Armenia.

The entrepreneurs involved in car imports have expressed their dissatisfaction with the transfer of the customs clearance point for cars in Gyumri and the ban on the import of cars with right-hand steering wheel, the "Pastinfo.am" has reported.

After the ban of importing right-hand steering wheel cars into the country, the transfer of the steering wheel to the left-hand side permitted in Armenia is made in Georgia, bringing incomes to Georgian businessmen, said Gevorg Ovannisyan, the representative of car importers.

"Because of the order introduced by our authorities, the self-employed people have lost their jobs. By the end of the year, we will leave about USD 10 million in Georgia," he has stated.

The police demanded to unblock the street and drive off the parked cars; there were clashes of protesters with policemen. The government fails to enforce the law on improving the business environment, the protesters have stated.

By the end of the day, the protesting car importers unblocked the street after the authorities' promise to discuss the issues raised at the rally, the "News.am" reports.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 28, 2019 at 07:47 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.