Activist Vaghinak Shushanyan quits ‘No to Plunder’ civic initiative

Activist Vaghinak Shushanyan has left the civic initiative ‘No to Plunder’, according to a statement on Shushanyan’s Facebook page.
“I had to quit the initiative ‘No to Plunder’ because of personal problems and busy schedule. It does not mean I am giving up the struggle, quite the opposite, I will continue it. I am prepared to take to the streets at any moment. I will stand by my friends’ side and provide moral support to them,” V. Shushanyan wrote.

‘No to Plunder’ initiative staged mass protests in June against a rise in electricity tariffs in Armenia. The participants of demonstrations that blocked Bagramyan Avenue in downtown Yerevan - where the parliament, the presidential residence, the Constitutional Court and several embassies are located - for over two weeks later divided into two groups. Following the June 27 statement by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, members of ‘No to Plunder’ initiative called on the protesters to leave the avenue and return to Liberty Square nearby. Yet some of the demonstrators refused to leave, while others moved to Liberty Square. On July 6 the police unblocked Bagramyan Avenue and traffic resumed in the city center.