The recent rage against higher bus fares in Yerevan may have concluded in protesters' favor, but a struggle against the man who raised those fares, Yerevan Mayor Taron Markarian, is proving a bumpier campaign. Clashes between police and protesters broke out in downtown Yerevan on August 1 when demonstrators tried to pitch tents in front of the mayor's office.
Police claimed that that requires a permit from the mayor's office. Several demonstrators were arrested and released later on the same day.
The series of protests began in the wake of a boycott of public transportation in the Armenian capital after the city government raised fares. Mayor Markarian was forced to decrease the prices, after Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian, for one, commented favorably on demonstrators' campaign, but the protesters continue to accuse the municipality of mismanagement of the city transportation system and have demanded the resignation of municipal officials. Mayor Markarian’s offer to overhaul the public conveyance system has been dismissed by protesters.