Armenian police have broken up a rally, which was heading towards the president's residence on Yerevan's Baghramyan Avenue. Demonstrators from the 'No to Robbery!' movement were protesting against the rise in the price of electricity.
11 police offficers and 7 demonstrators were injured during the operation.
"I'll give you 10 minutes to unblock the Avenue. Your actions are unlawful. The police demand that these actions be stopped immediately," Interfax cited a deputy chief of the city police, Colonel Valery Osipyan, as saying.
He also told the protesters that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is ready to talk to several of them, but the demonstrators did not agree to this, demanding an immediate solution to the problem.
The security forces used water cannon against protesters, News-Armenia reports.
"237 participants of the rally were detained in a police operation, the police have seized knives, knuckledusters, batons and metal rods from the protesters," a local police spokesman Armen Malkhasyan said.
"Eighteen people were injured during the rally. Seven citizens have sought medical assistance and three of them have been hospitalized. Eleven police officers were injured," TASS cited him as saying.
According to the Armenian media, journalists of Gala TV, Radio Liberty’s Armenian office and News.am agencies were taken to police stations.
The protesters have been holdwa demonstration on Liberty Square since June 19. The Electric Networks of Armenia company has raised electricity tariffs by 6.93 Armenian drams (475.03/$1).
The vice president of the ANC, Levon Zurabyan, told Vestnik Kavkaza that he doesn't know whether it could be compared with Ukraine, but the fact is that these actions of police to disperse the demonstration could actually lead to more mass demonstrations, this cannot be excluded," he said.
"People have risen up against the increase in electricity prices, which were not caused by any serious economic reasons and are connected only with the corrupt system that exists in Armenia. People know this and they just want to put an end to it," Zurabyan said.
