10:24, 24 March 2019

Yerevan activists oppose paid car parks

In a street of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, seven activists of the initiative "In Name of Justice" repainted red marking lines of a car park into purple in protesting against toll car parks in the city.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that back in 2013, Yerevan authorities introduced a system of paid car parks. Up to five minutes, parking is free; up to one hour it costs 100 drams (USD 0.21). The penalty for non-payment is 5000 drams (USD 10.5).

When yet an MP, as well as during the "velvet revolution", the current Premier, Nikol Pashinyan, spoke against paid parking. After he came to power, the Armenian Parliament forgave drivers the accumulated fines of USD 28 million, but did not eliminate paid car parks.

"Our action is to remind Pashinyan that he should fulfil his promise. The public has long expressed its displeasure at the red lines on the road," Irina Arutyunyan, an activist, has stated.

"People are waiting for reforms from the Premier," Samvel Movsisyan, another activist, has added, suggesting that the money already collected from car parks could be use to build housing for homeless people.

Protesters have called on residents of Yerevan to refuse to pay for parking.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 23, 2019 at 11:01 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Armine Martirosyan

Source: CK correspondent