Police block central road in Yerevan for protesters
Posted on 06/22/2015 11:04:29 PM PDT by annalex
YEREVAN, June 22. / ARKA /. Armenia’s riot police armed with water canons have blocked the central Baghramian Avenue in Yerevan to prevent thousands of protesters demonstrating against the latest rise in electricity price, from moving to the presidential residence.
Deputy police chief Valery Osipyan conveyed to the demonstrators the request of his superior that the protesters form a 5-member group whom president Serzh Sargsyan is ready to receive to discuss the situation, but the protesters denied the offer. The police warned that they will prevent attempts to disturb public order.
On June 17 Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) formally raised the prices of electricity by over 16 percent, down from 40 percent rise sought by Armenia’s Russian-owned power distribution company - the Electricity Networks of Armenia (ENA).
This means that the daytime electricity price for households will rise from 42 drams to almost 49 drams (10 U.S. cents) per kilowatt/hour. The households will pay almost 39 drams per kilowatt/hour during night hours.
The daytime electricity price for households already went up by 27 percent in July 2013 because of the increased cost of Russian natural gas generating more than one-third of Armenia’s electricity. The PSRC raised it by another 10 percent in July 2014.
The Electricity Networks of Armenia is a 100% subsidiary of Russian INTER RAO UES. ($ 1 - 473.96 drams). --0-
20:57 22.06.2015
Could be nothing. Could be another country leaving the USSR 2.0 while they still can.
If you want to be on this right wing, monarchy, paleolibertarianism and nationalism ping list, but are not, please let me know. If you are on it and want to be off, also let me know. This ping list is not used for Catholic-Protestant debates.
In Armenia, a Maidan against the Russian Occupation Is Starting...
People have gathered to protest the decision of the powers-that-be to satisfy once again the bottomless appetites of the Russian energy monopoly.
...
They call "occupation" the numerous "peace-keeping" military bases in Armenia. The Armenians consider it occupation that through deceit Russia took over an atomic plant, a railroad, several electric plants and other strategically important objects.
...
The Russian media see in this the hand of the US State Department.
Because no one has told the Russians about our State Department.
lol
The video contains a civilized protest, then in the last 2 minutes a civilized police charge and a few civilized arrests. The calm rhythms of Armenian speech dominate.
Armenia is a beautiful country filled with beautiful people. Also, there are reports that the police is siding up with the protesters.
$0.10 / kWh is cheap by European standards, isn’t bad by U.S. standards. Go get your bill and see what you pay.
“The Russian media see in this the hand of the US State Department.
Because no one has told the Russians about our State Department.”
HA!
“Go get your bill and see what you pay.”
When you read your bill take the Total Bill and divide it by the KWH and you will see that you are being raped by both the government and the electric company.
The rate per KWH is one thing...the rate for ELECTRICITY is another thing once all other costs are added.
I would love to pay $0.10 per KWH.
It looks like their protest is not economic. Protesting foreign ownership of a monopoly utility company is not about the price it charges but about lack of competition or political control; observe that they also protest the military bases.
Yeah.
I know. I am not likely to praise Obama for anything he did, — which isn’t much even if one is aligned with his objectives — but this thought has occurred a number of times to me: whatever man, thinker, and ideologue Obama is, the office of the Presidency shaped him. Not entirely, but it shows a discernible mark on his presidency. In his treatment of the Ukrainian crisis Obama has not been perfect, but he was nevertheless presidential and he exercised leadership in NATO. It is rather obvious that without his pressure the West Europe flank of NATO would just have collapsed.
The reason the resurgent USSR 2.0 appears yielding its main objective: the creation of a land corridor to Transdnistria and incorporation of Luhank-Donbass to the Russian Federation — is, in great part, because the US has stuck to its guns on Ukraine.
Given the shameful sellout of Cuba by the same Obama, I expected less on Ukraine, and I am happy to report, I was not totally disappointed: even with Obama in charge, America remained America.
Which opens a way to the following question:
Are American institutions fundamentally solid? Not solid still, not solid in part, but solid enough to resist a 8-year-long ideological assault likely to continue?
The Supreme Court will soon tells us if it is a court or a jester show. If it is to rule on the constitutionality of the gay “marriage”, then soon thereafter the court will be another institute of bureaucratic oppression, not much different from the DMV: except the courts jail people and jailed people we then would be. Then, whatever corrective power, existed over even the presidents we dislike, will be gone and it won’t be restored. Then, the gains of the foreign policy and the gains of the military muscle will remain infertile. Probably, the institutions of the leftwing state will be hostile then, and the cooperation of the conservative institutions with the institutions controlled by the government should seize.
Yet so far, the management of the Ukraine theater is — not adequate, but — satisfactory. My fear is that Putin will escalate the tension and begin to issue threats. NATO is likely to fold to those.
But alarmist I am not. Pray.
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