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YEREVAN MAYOR PROMISES NO KIOSK CONSTRUCTION UNTIL ISSUE RESOLVED, BUT ACTIVISTS SAY NO GUARANTEES
epress.am
02.16.2012
Environmentalists who for five days straight have been protesting the
construction of kiosks in the park next to the maternity hospital on
Mashtots Ave. in Yerevan did not reach an agreement with the city's
mayor at a meeting on Wednesday.
Speaking to Epress.am, the young activists said Heritage Party MP
Anahit Bakhshyan, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) MP
Lilit Galstian, Yerevan's chief architect Narek Sargsyan, Association
for Sustainable Human Development President Karine Danielyan and
three activists were present at the meeting, which lasted 2.5 hours.
Environmentalist Yeghia Nersisyan said the group was invited to
attend another meeting with Narek Sargsyan later in the evening,
which they agreed to; however, she says they have no guarantees that
workers won't return to the work and continue building the kiosks.
"The mayor promised us that until this committee is created there
won't be any construction. Despite his promise, we're in the park and
continue our vigilance. Speaking with the mayor we understood that
these kiosks won't be removed, though he spoke from that position. We
aren't changing our position and continue to fight," she said.
"They connected this issue with the Old Yerevan architectural project.
In my opinion, the question of this space and that project have no
connection to each other. As for what will happen to Old Yerevan,
I don't know, but those kiosks shouldn't be placed in the park,"
said MP Anahit Bakhshyan, speaking to Epress.am.
The opposition lawmaker is convinced that the mayor won't annul his
earlier decision to install the kiosks because "it's not as if they
belong to random people."
"It's obvious that the mayor is hostage to some liabilities," she said.
MP Lilit Galstian mentioned that Old Yerevan is a project that hasn't
been realized, and during the meeting the mayor tried to convince
them that this construction project is a temporary solution and the
main plan has been confirmed till the year 2020.
"On my suggestion we'll meet today because they haven't provided
us with the legal basis for the project, the package, on which
the construction is to be implemented. Today [Wednesday evening]
everything will be clear, but I continue to be the defender of
public green spaces. The urban development plan in Yerevan has to be
civilized. The approaches and times of [outdoor] markets [and kiosks]
have passed. It's civilized to have a green, breathable city,"
she said.
One thing is clear, Galstyan added: one must be awfully stubborn in
this situation in order to prove that one plus one equals two.
From: A. Papazian
epress.am
02.16.2012
Environmentalists who for five days straight have been protesting the
construction of kiosks in the park next to the maternity hospital on
Mashtots Ave. in Yerevan did not reach an agreement with the city's
mayor at a meeting on Wednesday.
Speaking to Epress.am, the young activists said Heritage Party MP
Anahit Bakhshyan, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) MP
Lilit Galstian, Yerevan's chief architect Narek Sargsyan, Association
for Sustainable Human Development President Karine Danielyan and
three activists were present at the meeting, which lasted 2.5 hours.
Environmentalist Yeghia Nersisyan said the group was invited to
attend another meeting with Narek Sargsyan later in the evening,
which they agreed to; however, she says they have no guarantees that
workers won't return to the work and continue building the kiosks.
"The mayor promised us that until this committee is created there
won't be any construction. Despite his promise, we're in the park and
continue our vigilance. Speaking with the mayor we understood that
these kiosks won't be removed, though he spoke from that position. We
aren't changing our position and continue to fight," she said.
"They connected this issue with the Old Yerevan architectural project.
In my opinion, the question of this space and that project have no
connection to each other. As for what will happen to Old Yerevan,
I don't know, but those kiosks shouldn't be placed in the park,"
said MP Anahit Bakhshyan, speaking to Epress.am.
The opposition lawmaker is convinced that the mayor won't annul his
earlier decision to install the kiosks because "it's not as if they
belong to random people."
"It's obvious that the mayor is hostage to some liabilities," she said.
MP Lilit Galstian mentioned that Old Yerevan is a project that hasn't
been realized, and during the meeting the mayor tried to convince
them that this construction project is a temporary solution and the
main plan has been confirmed till the year 2020.
"On my suggestion we'll meet today because they haven't provided
us with the legal basis for the project, the package, on which
the construction is to be implemented. Today [Wednesday evening]
everything will be clear, but I continue to be the defender of
public green spaces. The urban development plan in Yerevan has to be
civilized. The approaches and times of [outdoor] markets [and kiosks]
have passed. It's civilized to have a green, breathable city,"
she said.
One thing is clear, Galstyan added: one must be awfully stubborn in
this situation in order to prove that one plus one equals two.
From: A. Papazian