Baku, Azerbaijan, June 26
By Jamila Aliyeva - Trend:
The situation in Armenia is turning for the worse because of political and economic policy of the current government in Yerevan, Theodore Karasik, senior advisor to Risk Insurance Management in Dubai (UAE), Gulf-based analyst of regional geo-political affairs told Trend.
There is a problem in Armenia because of the business clans around the president and pressure put on Yerevan due to Russia's presence in this country, he said.
Armenia needs to come out with a new plan of economic reforms that breaks the cycle of nepotism and colonialism, in order to jumpstart the economy, he said.
However, it will be difficult for Armenia, since it is dependent on Russia in terms of economy and security, he added.
On June 23, the Armenian police broke up a rally in the center of the country's capital. The rally was held in protest against the increased electricity tariffs. The protests in the streets resulted in use of water cannons against people.
Over 230 people got arrested as a result of violent crackdown, including journalists of Gala TV, the Radio Liberty's Armenian office, the Haykakan Zhamanak newspaper, the Hetq, News.am, Panarmenian.net news agencies.
On June 17, Armenia's Public Services Regulatory Commission, considering a request from the distribution company, Electric Networks of Armenia, which is a subsidiary of the Inter RAO UES, raised the electricity tariffs by 6.93 Armenian drams (about $0.015). This caused discontent among the population that believes the rise in the cost of electricity will lead to higher prices for essential goods and many services.