Protest against pension reforms in Armenia’s capital (videos, photos)

The Armenian civic group protesting against the funded pensions started Thursday afternoon a protest in front of the Government, urging the citizens of Armenia to stand up for their rights.

The protesters were calling upon government officials to respect the Constitutional Court’s decision on suspending the controversial reforms and not to force their employees to pay salary taxes to pension funds.

On January 24, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling to suspend the controversial amendments to the pension law that made 5%-10% salary deductions mandatory for all Armenian citizens born after 1973.

The protesting activists were chanting slogans “Shame”, “We are Against”, “We are the Masters of this Country”.

Addressing the crowd, Gerasim Vardanyan, the leader of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun’s Nikol Aghbalyan student union, said the Government fails to take any measure to ensure the protection of the citizens' rights.