Epress.am News from Armenia
Protesting outside the presidential residence Wednesday were former land users of Dalma Gardens, who for several years now have been protesting that their lands were seized and no compensation was paid to them.
“It’s been 9 years we’ve been coming — and no results. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the lands given to us by law were sold without our knowledge. Sitting in our lands with our spouses, the land buyers came and said that this land is theirs. We, perplexed, asked, how, how is this your land? Do you have documents? They said, we’ll bring them.
“Then it turns out that [former parliamentary speaker] Hovik Abrahamyan’s sister, [Yerevan] city hall employees, judges, prosecutors and deputies divided up Dalma Gardens, the good part. [Former president of Armenia] Robert Kocharian has given everyone a gift — we stand before this fact. We ask the land buyers, who did you buy it from? They say, from the municipality: we gave a lot of money to city hall and bought it. When we ask, don’t you have to answer to us? They say, let city hall respond. It’s the ninth year that city hall hasn’t been responding,” said protestor Jemma Kirakosyan, speaking to Epress.am.
According to another protestor, Julietta Arshakyan, at one time Robert Kocharian said “even those who have planted beans on the sidewalks will receive compensation,” but where is the person who made this promise, she asked.
The former land users, who had rented the land for 10 years from the local district council, assert that the Armenian government today is doing everything possible to prolong settling the matter.
“They will deceive us for so long till our 1,800-strong numbers diminish and no one will remain to make demands from them. For exactly one year my father paid land tax even after that land was seized from us. My father who never had so much as a headache died during a regular quarrel with the land buyer and after all this the land buyer without shame said I will give $100 for the meal at the wake. The 400–500 trees of the land my father cultivated today have been stolen, cut down and sold,” said protestor Zoya Gabrielyan.
According to the protestors, it’s now impossible to return the lands to them since there are already “castles and palaces towering” on the area.
“There is such a thing as cadastre value; let them calculate it and pay the amounts per square meter due to us. For 7,700 square meters, they are offering us three land owners $2,000 USD. It’s simply laughable — abandoned lots [that can’t be cultivated] don’t even this value,” said another protestor, Armen Galstyan.
Protestors say they believe no one — not the president nor the prime minister, nor even the “injustice minister.”
“I have two sons in the army; both defend the border, and soon they’ll take the third [son] to serve. And how is my country protecting me? I have neither a house nor income, and today I’ve come to ask for handouts. Let them bring my sons back — why do I need these country’s borders to be defended?” complained Zoya Gabrielyan.
Approaching the protestors outside the presidential residence was only Yerevan City Hall spokesperson Davit Azizyan, who said they’re working on the matter, but those who regularly come to protest are hindering their work. He promised that everyone would receive financial compensation.
Protestors requested they be paid normal rates per square kilometer of land. The municipality employee again said the issue is being resolved.
The protest continued for about 1.5 hours after which protestors left, promising to gather outside the Armenian government building Thursday.