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HOLDING OUT: CIVIL ACTIVISTS PLEDGE CONTINUED STRUGGLE AGAINST PUBLIC TRANSPORT FARE RISE
http://armenianow.com/society/48602/armenia_transport_fare_civil_activists_mayor_s_off ice
SOCIETY | 19.09.13 | 20:52
Photolure
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The raise of public transport fare rates is again a heated topic of
discussion, and although Yerevan city authorities do not offer comments
related to the various speculations in this connection and are waiting
for the creation of the respective commission, civil activists keep
holding sit-in strikes in front of the municipality and, if needed,
will form a commission of their own to deal with the issue, they say.
In July Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan suspended the application of his
decision to raise the transport fares after a weeklong civil protest
in the Armenian capital. He also stated that a commission of experts
and concerned citizens would be formed to develop all the mechanisms
that would allow completing the decision on "Reconsideration of the
passenger transportation fares in Yerevan city".
The municipality reports that invitations have been sent to several
people to join the commission, but it is not clear yet how many
members it will have or when it may start working.
The 'Hello, Yerevan' faction in the Yerevan Council of Elders released
a statement on Thursday that their faction would not be part of
the commission.
"The decisions on "Reconsideration of passenger transportation fares
in Yerevan city" are illegal and have been made in violation of a
number of laws - both by application and interpretation, and the
documents serving as its basis have fraudulent elements," says the
release in part.
Before the commission would even come to existence, speculations are
made in the press and online social networks about the raise of rates,
especially after director of the David Route bus company (operating
around ten bus and minibus routes) Harutyun Arakelyan told media
several days ago that more than 60 bus companies had turned to the
municipality with their calculations and reasons why the transport
fare should be raised to 150-200 drams (around 36-48 cents) from
current 100 (around 25 cents).
Civil activists fighting to prevent the raise say the commission is
going to be fake, and in response they might create a commission of
their own representing the actually concerned parties.
"In any event of an attempted raise of fare rates there will be
a counterstrike. Right at this moment we are trying to predict the
steps the municipality might take to plan our resistance," activist
Sevak Mamyan told ArmeniaNow, adding that last night a "Zil" truck
hit the vehicles belonging to two of the activists taking part in
the sit-in next to the city hall building, which, he claims, was a
sabotage and a means to make the strikers leave the place.
http://armenianow.com/society/48602/armenia_transport_fare_civil_activists_mayor_s_off ice
SOCIETY | 19.09.13 | 20:52
Photolure
By Gohar Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter
The raise of public transport fare rates is again a heated topic of
discussion, and although Yerevan city authorities do not offer comments
related to the various speculations in this connection and are waiting
for the creation of the respective commission, civil activists keep
holding sit-in strikes in front of the municipality and, if needed,
will form a commission of their own to deal with the issue, they say.
In July Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan suspended the application of his
decision to raise the transport fares after a weeklong civil protest
in the Armenian capital. He also stated that a commission of experts
and concerned citizens would be formed to develop all the mechanisms
that would allow completing the decision on "Reconsideration of the
passenger transportation fares in Yerevan city".
The municipality reports that invitations have been sent to several
people to join the commission, but it is not clear yet how many
members it will have or when it may start working.
The 'Hello, Yerevan' faction in the Yerevan Council of Elders released
a statement on Thursday that their faction would not be part of
the commission.
"The decisions on "Reconsideration of passenger transportation fares
in Yerevan city" are illegal and have been made in violation of a
number of laws - both by application and interpretation, and the
documents serving as its basis have fraudulent elements," says the
release in part.
Before the commission would even come to existence, speculations are
made in the press and online social networks about the raise of rates,
especially after director of the David Route bus company (operating
around ten bus and minibus routes) Harutyun Arakelyan told media
several days ago that more than 60 bus companies had turned to the
municipality with their calculations and reasons why the transport
fare should be raised to 150-200 drams (around 36-48 cents) from
current 100 (around 25 cents).
Civil activists fighting to prevent the raise say the commission is
going to be fake, and in response they might create a commission of
their own representing the actually concerned parties.
"In any event of an attempted raise of fare rates there will be
a counterstrike. Right at this moment we are trying to predict the
steps the municipality might take to plan our resistance," activist
Sevak Mamyan told ArmeniaNow, adding that last night a "Zil" truck
hit the vehicles belonging to two of the activists taking part in
the sit-in next to the city hall building, which, he claims, was a
sabotage and a means to make the strikers leave the place.