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Social protests: Citizens in public demonstrations of discontent to
influence government decision-making
ANALYSIS | 13.05.13 | 11:31
Photolure
Volodya Avetisyan
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
After the end of another election cycle in which the ruling party only
consolidated its grip on power, there seems to have been a growing
appreciation in Armenia for public protests as a constitutional way of
influencing government decision-making.
A group of Karabakh war veterans have been on a sit-in in Liberty
Square in Yerevan protesting the principle by which military pensions
are calculated. More than two dozen veterans joined retired colonel
Volodya Avetisyan, who embarked on the action on Saturday.
The veterans say that the people who fought and won in the war now get
miserable pensions. They planned a march towards the government
building on Monday to present their demands regarding changes in the
system of social guarantees for retired servicemen and war veterans.
Head of the volunteer detachment `Tigran Mets' Rubik Israelyan told
Tert.am that such a move was a serious blow to the country's
authorities, but, at the same time, he stressed that earlier they had
unsuccessfully tried other ways to solve the problem. `Our fault is
that we have allowed some people to come and take up these posts. We
are tired of this,' he said.
Meanwhile, citizen protests have taken place in the regions as well.
Villagers in the Armavir province of Armenia on Sunday blocked the
Hoktemberian-Yerevan road demanding that the government compensate for
the damage that they have suffered due to hail. The thing is that in
Armenia there is no system of agricultural insurance, there is no
general anti-hail system, and farmers are, in fact, left to fend for
themselves. Almost all of them have to borrow money for their
activities and then because of unfavorable weather conditions they are
unable to repay their loans. This causes them to sell their property
and leave the country.
The government provides no agricultural subsidies, nor is it willing
to assume the functions of the insurer when it comes to climate
conditions and crops.
Earlier, villagers in the Lori province had to take action against
plans for building a hydro-power plant there. In particular, they
threw the pipe brought in for the project into the gorge. Villagers
say construction of such a facility on the local river that feeds
several communities will be damaging to their economies. They had gone
through all instances, participated in hearings, but the pipes were
still brought. The simplest solution, under the circumstances, for
them was to throw them into the gorge and this has become the
brightest example of civil disobedience in Armenia yet.
There has been no effective mechanism of public opinion influencing
decision-making in Armenia for years. But in recent years, however,
the society's voice has become louder, and there have already been
separate cases when through protest actions citizens have managed to
convince the authorities to change their original decisions (Trchkan
waterfall, Mashtots Park). But after the election of 2012-2013 the
society seems to have finally understood that protests and civil
disobedience are the only way to influence political decision-making
in Armenia.
From: A. Papazian
influence government decision-making
ANALYSIS | 13.05.13 | 11:31
Photolure
Volodya Avetisyan
By NAIRA HAYRUMYAN
ArmeniaNow correspondent
After the end of another election cycle in which the ruling party only
consolidated its grip on power, there seems to have been a growing
appreciation in Armenia for public protests as a constitutional way of
influencing government decision-making.
A group of Karabakh war veterans have been on a sit-in in Liberty
Square in Yerevan protesting the principle by which military pensions
are calculated. More than two dozen veterans joined retired colonel
Volodya Avetisyan, who embarked on the action on Saturday.
The veterans say that the people who fought and won in the war now get
miserable pensions. They planned a march towards the government
building on Monday to present their demands regarding changes in the
system of social guarantees for retired servicemen and war veterans.
Head of the volunteer detachment `Tigran Mets' Rubik Israelyan told
Tert.am that such a move was a serious blow to the country's
authorities, but, at the same time, he stressed that earlier they had
unsuccessfully tried other ways to solve the problem. `Our fault is
that we have allowed some people to come and take up these posts. We
are tired of this,' he said.
Meanwhile, citizen protests have taken place in the regions as well.
Villagers in the Armavir province of Armenia on Sunday blocked the
Hoktemberian-Yerevan road demanding that the government compensate for
the damage that they have suffered due to hail. The thing is that in
Armenia there is no system of agricultural insurance, there is no
general anti-hail system, and farmers are, in fact, left to fend for
themselves. Almost all of them have to borrow money for their
activities and then because of unfavorable weather conditions they are
unable to repay their loans. This causes them to sell their property
and leave the country.
The government provides no agricultural subsidies, nor is it willing
to assume the functions of the insurer when it comes to climate
conditions and crops.
Earlier, villagers in the Lori province had to take action against
plans for building a hydro-power plant there. In particular, they
threw the pipe brought in for the project into the gorge. Villagers
say construction of such a facility on the local river that feeds
several communities will be damaging to their economies. They had gone
through all instances, participated in hearings, but the pipes were
still brought. The simplest solution, under the circumstances, for
them was to throw them into the gorge and this has become the
brightest example of civil disobedience in Armenia yet.
There has been no effective mechanism of public opinion influencing
decision-making in Armenia for years. But in recent years, however,
the society's voice has become louder, and there have already been
separate cases when through protest actions citizens have managed to
convince the authorities to change their original decisions (Trchkan
waterfall, Mashtots Park). But after the election of 2012-2013 the
society seems to have finally understood that protests and civil
disobedience are the only way to influence political decision-making
in Armenia.
From: A. Papazian