Public Transport Routes from Several Cities to Capital Not in Service, Say Opposition Representatives

Armenian National Congress (HAK) foreign relations committee member Vladimir Karapetyan has informed Epress.am that ahead of the opposition bloc’s 6 pm rally today, the regular schedules of public transportation vehicles operating routes from the regions to the capital have been disrupted.

Karapetyan, while in Gyumri, asserted that since this morning, the minibuses and taxis operating the Gyumri-Yerevan route were not in service. The relevant authorities cite a storm as the reason why the roads are closed; however, Gyumri residents say there is no storm.

At the same time, head of the HAK’s Armavir branch Sedrak Hovhannisyan informed Epress.am that since yesterday, Armavir provincial police have been visiting the homes of HAK activists.

“Some are called to come to the station; some are urged not to go to the rally — thereby terrorizing them. This is unprecedented for Armavir,” he said.

Hovhannisyan added that the inter-city transport in Armavir is also out of service.

According to information HAK has received, inter-city transport is also not operating from Ashtarak, Sevan and Hrazdan. In Hrazdan, the roads leading to Yerevan are closed and not by traffic police but by police patrol service vehicles (those belonging to the riot police unit).