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KARABAKH: MODEST WIN FOR BUS FARE PROTESTORS
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #756
Oct 24 2014
Facebook helps mobilise protest movement.
By Knar Babayan - Caucasus
Public protests are rare in Nagorny Karabakh, where the Armenian
population has been bound by a sense of solidarity since war with
Azerbaijan ended two decades ago. But when bus fares in the capital
Stepanakert went up by 40 per cent at the start of October, commuters
felt enough was enough.
Fares went up from 70 to 100 drams a ride on October 1. Although the
new fare is equivalent to just 25 US cents, many residents of this
city of 70,000 said they could not afford it.
"I make a trip to play chess or spend some time with my friends,"
83-year-old pensioner Vachagan Sargsyan said. "If I have to spend
200 drams a day on travel, I'll have nothing left of my pension."
Sargsyan was among around 100 people gathered outside the city mayor's
office on September 24 to express their concerns. One of their banners
said it all - "We'll pay 70 but not 100,"
Another participant, Ruzanna Avagyan of the Nagorny Karabakh Refugees
group, said this was about more than bus fares.
"Today they're raising transport fares, and if we remain silent,
they'll start increasing the prices of gas, electricity and water
tomorrow," she said. "I'm here because I cannot afford to pay 100
drams a trip."
Mayor Suren Grigoryan came out and invited a delegation of 20 to come
in and discuss their concerns. Once inside, he refused to talk to
them unless the journalists accompanying them left, saying he did
not want the conversation to be blown up into something big. The
protesters refused his terms, and the meeting fell apart.
When a somewhat smaller demonstration took place on September 29
outside the Karabakh government building, Prime Minister Arayik
Haratyunyan met them.
According to Tigran Grigoryan, chief editor of the Artsakhnews.am
news site, the prime minister has gone at least some way to meeting
their demands, which were now focused on targeted subsidies rather
than a blanket fare cut.
Grigoryan, who is also a student, said Harutyunyan subsequently told
an audience at Stepanakert's university that "the government plans
to subsidise [public] transport costs for students and vulnerable
social groups both in Stepanakert and in [other] regions of Karabakh.
Discussions are currently taking place with the labour and welfare
ministry on options for making this mechanism work."
Grigoryan said the campaign had really taken off because of the rising
popularity of social networking websites, which had changed the whole
mood in Karabakh. At its heart was a campaigning Facebook page (here,
in Armenian) which had helped mobilise protestors.
Fellow-student Vladimir Dolukhyan argues that what really clinched
the deal was securing meetings with officials including Prime Minister
Harutyunyan.
"We believe that street protests [alone] are no longer effective, so a
decision was taken to secure individual meetings with representatives
of the relevant government institutions to press for [fare] subsidies
for vulnerable social groups," he said.
The bus fare comes amid rising prices for foodstuffs and other
essential goods and services in Karabakh. Last year, gas and
electricity prices went up as well, although the government promised
to subsidise the latter.
When the bus operators applied to the mayor's office for a fare
increase this May, they cited the rising cost of diesel and spare
parts. They asked for the fare to be set at 120 drams, which the
mayor's office cut to 100 drams after commissioning a study on the
actual cost.
Levon Chalyan, director of the Stepanakert-Service company, said the
firm was constantly shelling out money to run its fleet of Hyundai
buses, which took a pummeling from the "pitiable state of the roads"
and also needed frequent repairs to their seats. In addition, bus
drivers had recently been issued with uniforms.
"All of that requires spending," he said.
Chalyan's company says it is running at a loss and only survives
because its debts have been covered by the Artsakh Investment Fund,
a government agency. The city's other bus operator, Mher, which has
about a third of the market, runs at a modest profit.
Fund director Artak Mirzoyan said the fare increase would generate
extra revenue of 100 million drams (250,000 dollars) a year, more or
less what his institution was giving Stepanakert-Service in subsidies.
Chalyan said more income would mean a better bus service for the
public and a ten or 15 per cent pay rise for the firm's 62 drivers,
who were now on 100,000 drams a month.
A driver for the company who asked not to be named said he was against
the fare rise and doubted it would translate into higher wages.
Knar Babayan is a freelance journalist in Stepanakert.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/karabakh-modest-win-bus-fare-protestors
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, UK
IWPR Caucasus Reporting #756
Oct 24 2014
Facebook helps mobilise protest movement.
By Knar Babayan - Caucasus
Public protests are rare in Nagorny Karabakh, where the Armenian
population has been bound by a sense of solidarity since war with
Azerbaijan ended two decades ago. But when bus fares in the capital
Stepanakert went up by 40 per cent at the start of October, commuters
felt enough was enough.
Fares went up from 70 to 100 drams a ride on October 1. Although the
new fare is equivalent to just 25 US cents, many residents of this
city of 70,000 said they could not afford it.
"I make a trip to play chess or spend some time with my friends,"
83-year-old pensioner Vachagan Sargsyan said. "If I have to spend
200 drams a day on travel, I'll have nothing left of my pension."
Sargsyan was among around 100 people gathered outside the city mayor's
office on September 24 to express their concerns. One of their banners
said it all - "We'll pay 70 but not 100,"
Another participant, Ruzanna Avagyan of the Nagorny Karabakh Refugees
group, said this was about more than bus fares.
"Today they're raising transport fares, and if we remain silent,
they'll start increasing the prices of gas, electricity and water
tomorrow," she said. "I'm here because I cannot afford to pay 100
drams a trip."
Mayor Suren Grigoryan came out and invited a delegation of 20 to come
in and discuss their concerns. Once inside, he refused to talk to
them unless the journalists accompanying them left, saying he did
not want the conversation to be blown up into something big. The
protesters refused his terms, and the meeting fell apart.
When a somewhat smaller demonstration took place on September 29
outside the Karabakh government building, Prime Minister Arayik
Haratyunyan met them.
According to Tigran Grigoryan, chief editor of the Artsakhnews.am
news site, the prime minister has gone at least some way to meeting
their demands, which were now focused on targeted subsidies rather
than a blanket fare cut.
Grigoryan, who is also a student, said Harutyunyan subsequently told
an audience at Stepanakert's university that "the government plans
to subsidise [public] transport costs for students and vulnerable
social groups both in Stepanakert and in [other] regions of Karabakh.
Discussions are currently taking place with the labour and welfare
ministry on options for making this mechanism work."
Grigoryan said the campaign had really taken off because of the rising
popularity of social networking websites, which had changed the whole
mood in Karabakh. At its heart was a campaigning Facebook page (here,
in Armenian) which had helped mobilise protestors.
Fellow-student Vladimir Dolukhyan argues that what really clinched
the deal was securing meetings with officials including Prime Minister
Harutyunyan.
"We believe that street protests [alone] are no longer effective, so a
decision was taken to secure individual meetings with representatives
of the relevant government institutions to press for [fare] subsidies
for vulnerable social groups," he said.
The bus fare comes amid rising prices for foodstuffs and other
essential goods and services in Karabakh. Last year, gas and
electricity prices went up as well, although the government promised
to subsidise the latter.
When the bus operators applied to the mayor's office for a fare
increase this May, they cited the rising cost of diesel and spare
parts. They asked for the fare to be set at 120 drams, which the
mayor's office cut to 100 drams after commissioning a study on the
actual cost.
Levon Chalyan, director of the Stepanakert-Service company, said the
firm was constantly shelling out money to run its fleet of Hyundai
buses, which took a pummeling from the "pitiable state of the roads"
and also needed frequent repairs to their seats. In addition, bus
drivers had recently been issued with uniforms.
"All of that requires spending," he said.
Chalyan's company says it is running at a loss and only survives
because its debts have been covered by the Artsakh Investment Fund,
a government agency. The city's other bus operator, Mher, which has
about a third of the market, runs at a modest profit.
Fund director Artak Mirzoyan said the fare increase would generate
extra revenue of 100 million drams (250,000 dollars) a year, more or
less what his institution was giving Stepanakert-Service in subsidies.
Chalyan said more income would mean a better bus service for the
public and a ten or 15 per cent pay rise for the firm's 62 drivers,
who were now on 100,000 drams a month.
A driver for the company who asked not to be named said he was against
the fare rise and doubted it would translate into higher wages.
Knar Babayan is a freelance journalist in Stepanakert.
http://iwpr.net/report-news/karabakh-modest-win-bus-fare-protestors