Cabmen protest against new legislative initiative
Taxi drivers in Armenia today staged a protest in Yerevan's Shengavit community against government-proposed legislative initiative which suggests that yellow license plates, put into practice in 2007, be replaced by white license plates.
The cabmen argue that the adoption of the law will lead to the disappearance of private taxis.
"The aim of the legislative package is to make us, cabmen, work for well-off people who are owners of taxi services," said Vova Aghayan.
The angered drivers say they cannot understand the government which first made them acquire yellow license plates and now demands that yellow license be removed and replaced by stick-on labels.
"We need normal officials to make a clever decision: one day they announce that plates should be yellow, the other day they say they must be white. Some day they may demand that the plates be made of iron, or paper," said another participant of the protest.
Taxi drivers say that the government is further aggravating their social conditions with its imprudent decisions.
"If earlier we could afford to eat chops at least once a month, today they are depriving us of the opportunity," said a third protester.
