Yerevan police ask hunger strikers to “eat apricot”

Some of the participants in the rally against the growth of electricity tariffs remained on Baghramyan Avenue in Yerevan, despite the police’s requests to release the center of the Armenian capital for transport.

At the same time, some of the protesters chose to disperse. The police took the water cannon from the square, which they had previously tried to disperse the protest.

Deputy Chief of Police of Yerevan, Colonel Valery Osipyan, later spoke about the withdrawal of two more armored personnel carriers. He noted that the police are ready to restore public order on the avenue “by all means provided by law.”

At the same time, two protesters, Harutyun Harutyunyan and Hayk Parikyan, continued their hunger strike in the center of Yerevan. On Thursday afternoon, Osipyan tried to encourage the hunger strikers to end the protest.

“At least eat apricots. People from all over the world come to us in Armenia to eat apricots,” the colonel said. Now is the harvest time for apricots, the Latin name of which is translated as Prunes Armeniaca (“Armenian plum”).

In turn, Harutyunyan explained that they decided to start a hunger strike, because in order to achieve the goals of the protest movement, “one sit-in demonstration is not enough.”

Let us recall that on June 30 it was reported that the “No to Robbery” movement decided to stop night protests in Yerevan.

22 June, thousands of Armenians entered the central streets of Yerevan with a demand not to raise electricity tariffs. Early in the morning of June 23, the Armenian police severely dispersed the rally, using water cannons and batons. However, later protesters began to erect barricades. On Wednesday, June 24, it became known that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is temporarily leaving the country.

At the same time, on social networks, Kremlin bots began to actively promote the topic of protests in Armenia.

24 June The State Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia stated that it was not discussing the revision of the earlier decision to increase electricity tariffs from 1 in August, despite the mass protests it caused.