After meeting Mayor, activists decide to continue protests against building kiosks in Yerevan park

The members of the initiative groups "We are owners of this city" and "Our city", who demand to suspend the transfer of the kiosks dismantled in Abovyan Street to the public park near Mashtots Avenue, were not satisfied with the outcomes of their meeting with the Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan and decided to continue their protests. The Mayor promised that no construction would be run in the city at the expense of green zones.

The first protest action against the transfer of kiosks to the park was held on January 30. On February 11, activists began termless campaign and picket in Yerevan.

As noted by the activist-ecologist Egiya Nersisyan, when ecologists wanted to present the laws to the Mayor, which would be violated in the case of building kiosks in the park, Taron Margaryan said: "Don't talk to me the language of the law; and if you want to do it, go to court."

Gayane Melkumyan, an activist of the group "We are owners of this city", who was also present at the meeting with the Mayor, said that the legal aspect of the problem is very important for the participants of the meeting. "It's a great pity that, despite our best efforts, Taron Margaryan didn't want to touch on the legal aspects of the problem," she said.

Meanwhile, the Mayor of Yerevan Taron Margaryan wrote on his Facebook page that his position on construction of kiosks in the park is clear.

"The fact that no construction will be undertaken in the city at the expense of green zones was repeatedly declared by me. Moreover, the Yerevan Mayoralty has developed a number of environmental projects with the aim not only to protect green areas, but also expand them," said the Mayor.

In the meantime, the unfinished kiosks, transferred to the park, are still in their places, while the activists of the initiative groups and their supporters continue their sitting protest for the sixth day in a row.