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These are some photos from this afternoon’s protest at Mashdots Park in Yerevan. The area was chaotic — on the far end of the park there was a backhoe digging up the sidewalk, making a tremendous amount of noise and polluting the air with exhaust fumes and dust. Today a group of about [...]

These are some photos from this afternoon’s protest at Mashdots Park in Yerevan. The area was chaotic — on the far end of the park there was a backhoe digging up the sidewalk, making a tremendous amount of noise and polluting the air with exhaust fumes and dust. Today a group of about 10 people wearing yellow hard-hats, tools in hand, decided to show up in the hopes of dismantling the rows of kiosks. There were dozens of police on hand to face the peaceful protesters, even some in full riot gear which I thought was over the top. A news site called Asparez was streaming video of the protest live.

I couldn’t help thinking how absurd this whole affair is. The Yerevan municipality decided to contradict its very own law that it put into force last year banning these kiosks from existing on sidewalks in the first place. Then these activists keep returning day after day hoping to somehow take the park back on behalf of the public. In the meantime, none of the political parties are taking advantage of the opportunity to win votes in the coming parliamentary elections by lending their support. »The confrontations with the police are a bit pointless because they’re just doing their jobs — defending the position of the authorities. The protesters should realistically be taking up their beef with the city mayor and the Prime Minister, both of whom continue to be inconspicuously absent at each of these events. If you want to legitimately address the concerns of your citizens, go talk to them in person, not in press conferences or through police captains. Apparently, they have better things to do on a Saturday afternoon.




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