ANKARA
The protest of thousands of people in the Armenian capital of Yerevan against electricity tariff hike entered the eighth day Saturday.
The protesters, mainly young people, have been demonstrating for more than a week against the Public Services Supervisory Commission’s decision to raise prices by around 16 percent from August 1 upon a request from the country's Russian-owned electricity network.
There was an increase in the number of protesters Friday when they joined a one-hour sit-in protest at the France Square connecting the Baghramyan Street, where the presidential palace is situated.
Slogans such as “Go out, this country is ours”, “we will struggle till the end” or “the end to robbery” were heard from the protesting groups.
The rallies, supported by the "#ElectricYerevan" hashtag on social media platforms, have been continuing since Tuesday despite the detentions of several protesters by Armenian security forces after they used pressurized water to disperse the crowd. Officials have since announced their release.
A spokesman of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia told local media Friday that nobody, not even the country's president was for the price hike.
On Tuesday, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in statement that he was ready to meet the protesters and listen to their demands, but most of them rejected the proposal on grounds that their "demands [were] already apparent".
Country's chief prosecutor issued a statement on the same day saying an investigation had launched into the prevention of journalistic activities during the protests in Baghramyan Street.
