Activists of "I'm Against" Movement have disrupted the ongoing 3rd annual pension forum with participation of Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan and US Ambassador John Heffern in Yerevan.
Carrying banners and chanting, "We are Against Mandatory Accumulative Pension System", the activists broke into the conference hall where the forum was held. The forum organizers urged them to either participate in the forum or leave the hall. The activists left the hall and continued their protest action outdoors. The organizers decided to suspend the event.
To recall, people will be marching against the Mandatory Accumulative Pension System in Armenia on 21 February. In a relevant group on Facebook the organizers urge people to go to streets with electric torchlights at 6:30pm Yerevan time on 21 February. The action will start from the Institute of Ancient Manuscripts Matenadaran. The torchlights will be symbolizing the right path for the citizens having no strict position on the pension reform.
To recall, the voluntary accumulative pension system was introduced in Armenia on Jan 1 2011. The system became compulsory starting Jan 1 2014, which sparked public outrage. Armenian Constitutional Court's decision of January 24 suspended some provisions of the Law on the Accumulative Pension until the Court considers its constitutionality on Mar 28 2014.