Protest against gas price hike held outside Armenian parliament

NGO representatives and activists are staging a protest against the gas price hike outside the Armenian parliament.

A discussion on the change of gas tariff began at 6:30 pm in Armenian parliament. The discussion is being held behind closed doors, with the participation of Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Armen Movsisian, Chairman of the Public Services Regulatory Commission Robert Nazarian, and MPs.

Protesters consider the sitting illegitimate because there are no consumers and NGO representatives among the participants. Executive Director of Union of Social Defenders NGO Aram Grigorian told reporters that the discussion was organized without informing the public and that the authorities were expected to invite consumers to such discussions.

The Head of the National Assembly Staff Gurgen Dumanian met with protesters He promised to convey the protesters’ demands and then inform them about the answer.

Protesters hold placards saying “We won’t tolerate any decisions behind the back of citizens!”, “We will pay as much as we like!”, “HHK + ArmRosGazprom = genocide”, etc.

We would remind you that earlier “We Will Prevent the Gas Price Increase” civil initiative issued an open letter to the speaker of the Armenian parliament, proposing that members of NGOs, civil initiatives, and the mass media be invited to the mentioned discussion.