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2013 in Civil Society: Protests and more protests

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  • 2013 in Civil Society: Protests and more protests

    2013 in Civil Society: Protests and more protests

    Society | 30.12.13 | 12:05

    By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
    ArmeniaNow reporter


    The struggle of civil movements this year has been comprehensive and
    diverse with limited success in certain fields due to unified efforts
    and active involvement of the civil society.


    Despite the rather passive start of the year in terms of civil
    movements, the second half of 2013 turned out to be tense with active
    developments. Some analysts believe that especially after the February
    18 presidential ballot, when current president Serzh Sargsyan won a
    decisive victory over his opponents and was re-elected for a second
    term, despite the widespread poverty and atmosphere of injustice in
    the country, people became even more aware of the fact that is it
    impossible to achieve changes via elections and started practicing
    their constitutional rights to civil protest and disobedience more
    frequently.

    Karabakh war veterans' civil standoff has been unprecedented.
    Although, every now and then on different occasions they had
    complained of their social conditions and of being neglected by the
    state , however never before had they come out to hold systematic
    rallies and sitting strikes. Retired army colonel Volodya
    Avetisyaninitiated the civil standoff in May and in October found
    himself behind the bars, with charges of `swindling ...in large
    amounts'. Avetisyan's and his comrades-in-arms claim that by bringing
    charges the authorities are trying to silence him. The war vets
    demanding increase of their pensions and various privileges have now
    focused their struggle on various acts of protest in Avetisyan's
    support. There is another group of Karabakh war veterans presenting
    political demands to the government. Every Thursday they hold small
    rallies in Liberty Square and demand that the government resign.

    Yerevan mayor Taron Margaryan's decision to raise public bus fare by
    50 percent made the hot Yerevan summer even hotter.

    The decision was immediately followed by a civil movement when
    numerous young activists held a variety of acts of protest during five
    consecutive days relentlessly struggling, rebelling against the bus
    fare increase and made the municipal government in the Armenian
    capital heed the people's voice, forcing them to understand they would
    not pay more for using the overloaded, worn-out and hardly functioning
    minibuses.

    The unified effort yielded results and on July 26 the mayor suspended
    the application of his decision temporarily, meaning that the buses
    and minibuses continued operating for the same 100 dram fare (around
    24 cents). The mayor, however, stated that if residents of Yerevan
    wanted to have decent public transport services, they have to be ready
    to pay more. Municipal officials and transport companies running the
    routes have repeatedly stated after the summer civil standoff that the
    rise of bus fare is unavoidable, grounding it by the fact that
    everything else has become more expensive except for public transport
    services, hence their expenses have grown and they are operating at a
    loss.

    The departing year has turned out to be rather active also in terms of
    public protests against controversial construction projects. In
    August, residents of 10 and 12 Sayat-Nova Avenue and 5 Komitas
    streets, in Yerevan, rebelled against construction in their
    neighborhoods. These people claim that the construction licenses in
    densely populated zones of the city are illegal, violate the seismic
    resistance norms, and block their light. Despite the variety of
    measures the residents have resorted to, even lying down in front of
    construction machines to block their way, no tangible results have
    been achieved; their struggle is ongoing (h).

    Despite a drawn-out battle to preserve unchanged Yerevan's Pak Shuka
    (`Covered Market'), on the list of historical-cultural heritage and
    belonging to businessman MP Samvel Alexanyan, opened its doors after
    two years of repairs, but now as a fashionable supermarket, rather
    than the produce market it used to be. Although ruling Republican MP
    Alexanyan kept the façade, a very small area has been provided to
    produce vendors previously working at the market. Scores of activists
    representing the civil initiative founded after the Pak Shuka's
    opening and calling itself `Let's Liberate the Monument From the
    Oligarch' continues holding acts of protest claiming that Alexanyan
    has distorted a cultural monument, has reconstructed it illegally,
    with numerous violations of construction norms.

    Late in 2013, a new front of civil fight opened up with the new law on
    pension reform. While it is about retirement pensions, the protests
    were held by young professionals rather than elderly citizens of
    Armenia, because the new law on mandatory savings funds to come into
    effect in January 2014 refers to those born after January 1, 1974, who
    will be obliged to make monthly payments equivalent to five percent of
    their salaries to annuity savings funds under state control.

    The young people protesting against the new law are mostly highly-paid
    IT professionals, who will have to transfer more money to the savings
    fund on a monthly basis. They say they do not trust the authorities
    and doubt whether they would get their savings back once they reach
    retirement age of 63. The government says it has no intentions on
    giving up the pension reforms, while the youth say they will not just
    sit and do nothing and state their determination to continue the
    struggle.

    http://www.armenianow.com/society/51152/armenia_civil_society_year2013_review

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