"No To Robbery" Movement: Parliamentary hearings on energy costs must be open

"No To Robbery" Movement against possible rise in the energy rate in Armenia urges open parliamentary hearings on the energy costs, Levon Zakaryan, a member of the Movement told a news conference, on June 5.  

Earlier, Vice Speaker Eduard Sharmazanov said they do not want to turn the parliament hearings into a show, so the media will not be allowed to cover the hearings. 
"There were many different shows in the parliament and one more show will do no harm," the activist said.  He added that the Movement will not participate in any talks and will not agree that the energy rate is raised even by a cent. 

Another activist, Maxim Sargsyan, said they address their demand to President Serzh Sargsyan and Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan.  He recalled that once Sargsyan saved the Mashtots Park and Abrahamyan stopped introduction of the mandatory paid pension system. The activists urged people not to stay aside and join the protest rally on June 19 at 6:30pm.

The parliament hearings on the energy rate are set for June 12. 

To note, on June 2 Republican Party  of Armenia (RPA) faction and heads of relevant bodies of the sphere held a closed meeting at National Assembly of Armenia. ArmInfo's source in RPA informs that heads of Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia Robert Nazaryan and "Electric Networks of Armenia" CJSC Yevgeni Bibin respectively got engaged in thrived arguments. Republican deputies and heads of competent authorities blamed Bibin and the ENA for unreasonable expenses.  However, Bibin was not even trying to remain silent or feign any excuse. Quite the opposite, he was rather determined and made it clear that part of the so-called "unreasonable expenses" was fobbed off on ENA. Those who are now blaming the company for these expenses are well aware of the situation and have something to do with it. He has made it clear he is not going to take full responsibility for the current situation. He can shed some light on the source of these "unreasonable expenses" if required. ArmInfo's source informs that neither the deputies nor the officials liked that statement. They did hope to throw the ENA under the bus. Reps of the governing Party decided to hold the June 12 discussions behind closed doors given that the situation might get out of hand and the society can find out a different side of the reality. "The decision is still to be taken, yet everything is heading in that direction", said our source. He has also added that the PSRC will only uphold the ENA's claim in part - the energy rate will be increased by 7 AMD instead of 17. This means that daytime energy will cost 50 AMD versus the current 41.85 AMD.