Will the Minister go back on his word?
Armenia's prosecutors should bring up a case to restore the government's violated right to the "Dragons' Square", as demanded by the "We are the owners of this city" civil initiative. As stated in the initiative's release, yesterday the Mayor of Yerevan and head of Nor Nork district Melik Gasparyan visited the "Dragons' Square" and talked to residents.
"The building will be built either way. It will probably be 80 meters toward that side and the trees will be moved."
In response to residents' protests, the mayor said the RA Ministry of Nature Protection will soon sign permission (for expert examination). Mr. Gasparyan told residents that the building will be built no matter how long the residents protest.
A couple of days ago, the Minister of Nature Protection visited the park and assured that construction would not continue until public hearings are held as demanded by the law.
"We are sure that Mr. Harutyunyan will not go back on his word and will not violate the RA legislation by signing any permission without public hearings. We would like to remind the corresponding bodies that the "Dragons' Square" is a public park. It is not about constructing a building in another part, but maintaining the public park and people's resort. Any construction there is inadmissible regardless of how many trees there are," as stated in the declaration.
"The data that we have obtained go to show that all documents for privatization were initially given illegally and the corresponding officials are responsible for that. Since this is a violation of the government's right and public interest, we believe it is right for Armenia's prosecutors to bring up a case," say members of the "We are the owners of this city" civil initiative.
