Hovsep Khurshudyan: Actions of Armenian authorities can politicize protests around the country

Unjustified cruelty during the dispersal of the demonstration in the morning on June 23 in Yerevan might compel the organizers of the demonstration turn to more than economic demands.

The first protest demonstration started at the Freedom Square in Yerevan (about 6000 people), in the evening of Monday activists moved towards the presidential residence, and at 5 o’clock in the morning on Tuesday the police dispersed the protesters with the help of special equipment. About 250 people were detained, 25 people asked for medical aid.

Let us recall that the demonstrators demand to abolish the decision of the Commission on regulation of public services as of June 17 on raising the rate on electrical energy from August 1 for about 16.7%. Initially Closed Joint-stock Company “Electrical supply network” (a subsidiary of the Russian Public Corporation “Inter RAO”) announced about the raise of rates by 40.8%, but after the negotiations with the commission decreased the figure.

As Hovsep Khurshudyan, the member of the Steering Committee of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum noted in the interview with the “EuroBelarus” Information Service, Armenia is agitated with the events of June 23, “we can say that the moods among the organizers, who are civic activists, not political actors, change in favor of turning to political demands”.

Before the brutal dispersal, says Hovsep Khurshudyan, the organizers “categorically avoided the political forces joining them, they didn’t call for consolidation, they were saying that the only demand is not to raise electricity charges at all”.

According to Hovsep Khurshudyan, the actions of the authorities were unexpected only for the new generation of activists, who didn’t see the dispersals in April of 2004 and in 2008. “Bagramyan Avenue is a key place; blocking it means paralyzing the whole traffic in the Yerevan city centre; people could have been inspired and thousands of them would have gone into the streets. The authorities are aware of that (as they were aware in April of 2004), and that is why they act like this. In 2008 after the presidential elections 7 participants of the mass protests were killed, about 300 people were injured, about 200 political prisoners appeared. This time the detainees were let out during the day; they didn’t get the status of the accused, only of witnesses in the case of disorderly behavior. By the way, we got to know that the case on disorderly behavior started a day before the mopping-up”, - told one of the leaders of the Armenian civil society.

It is interesting that “the significant amount of special weapon used in 2004 and in 2008 was produced in Belarus”. “And their effect was so strong that there were much more injured than there are now. This time we didn’t use Belarusian sound shells, which, as we know, are not only sound. The thing is that they also inflict wounds. In 2004 some of my friends were hospitalized after the use of Belarusian sound shells”, - recalls Hovsep Khurshudyan.

According to him, the actions of the authorities testify to their significant concern about the protests: “We can draw this conclusion by the number of officers in civilian, police officers, and equipment, including APCs and numerous extremely strong water-cannons, - marks Hovsep Khurshudyan. – It is quite hard to forecast further development of the situation, since a lot depends on the organizers of the protests. Let me repeat that they were distancing themselves from political parties and avoided accusations on political destabilization. But they, I think, might change their moods since many people go into the streets not only because of the economic direction of the protests. They believe that abolition of raise of electricity charges for several drams won’t resolve the problem in the country. Well, $5-6 a month is a blow for a family budget with the average salary of $250-300; but for many people it is not the price worth the risk at the streets. If people would understand that it is a chance for changes in the country situation might become quite serious for the authorities”.

Hovsep Khurshudyan also pays attention to the coverage of events by some Russian media: “They have already recalled Maidan and the US that stand behind the protests in Yerevan”.

“The country is at the crossroads. Unless pro-Russian lien stops, we are facing the prospect of a complete collapse, both economical and political; it will be very hard to speak about some country’s independence. It’s hard to predict where will we be in a year or two. I think that young activists are becoming increasingly aware of that”, - stresses Hovsep Khurshudyan.

According to him, last night the protesters blocked the Bagramyan Avenue again, “there are twice as many people than there were the day before, deputies and famous artists made a live wall between the police and the people in order to prevent clashes”.

Let us also note that protest actions spread round the country – people in Gyumri and Vanadzor went out in the streets to support Yerevan and against the economic policy of the government.