Epress.am News from Armenia
A group of activists protesting the dismantling of the historic Afrikyan house in central Yerevan were detained by police yesterday evening, reports local daily Haykakan Zhamanak. Recall, according to a government decree, the building is to be dismantled and its façade assembled in another part of the city, while a hotel is to be built in its place.
"This caused broad dissatisfaction among civic circles. Yesterday, members of the initiative SOS! Save the Afrikyans' Building, divided into two groups, took action to prevent demolition of the building: the first group was dismantling the metal fence [tin sheets] surrounding the building, while the second group was erasing the numbers on the stones. The stones were numbered in order to be used during reconstruction.
"Activists, with the construction tools they brought with them, dismantled a large portion of the tin fencing," reports the paper. Later, a group of police officers arrived on the scene and demanded they stop, but to no avail. Continuing the dismantling, activists removed nearly the entire fence. Later, the number of police officers swelled, as riot police (in red berets) joined them. Riot police succeeded in picking up Vahagn Gevorgyan and getting him in a police vehicle.
"Some citizens blocked the car's path, but officers opened it, taking Vahagn Gevorgyan to the station. The citizens marched to the Kentron Police Division.
"But there, police officers' violent actions gathered momentum, and finally, around 10 citizens were detained outside Kentron division," reports the paper. Standing next to police officers in uniform were plainclothes officers and provocateurs. Also arriving at Kentron police station was MP Nikol Pashinyan, and while he was there, activists continued to be detained.
Later it became known that materials are being prepared to charge the activists with RA Criminal Code Article 185 (willful destruction or damage of property). As of last night, however, a criminal case was not yet launched.
The activists began to be released at around 2 am.
Note, the building at 11 Teryan St., constructed at the end of the 19th century and belonging to the merchant Armen Afrikyan, served as a center where political figures, entrepreneurs, artists, and other prominent members of the city would meet. The Afrikyans were also Yerevan City Council members. The building, recognized as having eminent public interest, was purchased by Millennium Construction, which intends to dismantle it, reconstructing the façade in another part of the city, and build a hotel in its place.