Epress.am News from Armenia
Owners of kiosks and stalls from all over Yerevan whose businesses either have already been demolished or will be demolished, according to a city hall decision, were protesting outside Yerevan City Hall this morning.
Protestors had put up placards on the sidewalk which read “We still want to live” and “victims of a whim and ‘taste’,” in reference to city officials’ comments that the structures are an eyesore and they must be demolished to make the Armenian capital more beautiful.
Kiosk owners last Friday had sent a letter to members of the municipality’s City Council, asking that a special meeting be held and that the decision to demolish their structures be annulled.
Showing her support at the demonstration today was Heritage Party MP Anahit Bakhshyan, who, speaking to reporters, said that the kiosk owners’ rally today puts pressure on City Council members to meet protestors’ demands.
“These people are here now so that the process moves forward. I know there won’t be a special meeting today, physically it can’t be; it’s now a dispatcher [situation] there, after which I will enter city hall with [fellow Heritage Party MP] Stepan Safaryan. On Friday, the head of the city hall’s legal department told Stepan Safaryan that on Monday there will be some statement or another. Let’s find out what that statement is, what direction does it got in and what is that option of compromise, which city hall must reach with the kiosk owners. There are no two opinions here,” she said.
Speaking to Epress.am, one of the kiosk owners, Anna Kirakosyan, expressed hope that city hall will make a decision that’s favourable for them.
“Hope dies last. We’re waiting; we’ll see… will they stop the demolition of our kiosks?” she said.