\u201cEvery day President Sargsyan speaks on developing the small and medium size enterprises. Now we are the representatives of that branch, but we are thrown away and the huge area is given to one owner for money making and for only an oligarch getting rich. Maybe later on we would work for him as a slave. But why? I don\u2019t want to give them my property,\u201d says Nikolay Melikyan.<\/p>\n
Nikolay is one among those 28 businessmen, who have privatized properties near Botanic Park, an area conterminous to Acharyan Avenue and Tsarav Aghbyur Street. Here there are shops of building materials and car spares, a lot of service centers, but their existence is no longer under threat.<\/p>\n
On April 21, 2005 the government came to a decision to separate the mentioned area, 9400square meters, for state needs \u2013 for construction. The mayor was assigned to provide realization of the construction projects from 2005 to 2009.<\/p>\n
For this reason in July 2006 mayor Yervand Zakharyan adopted Decision 1119-A and assigned the \u201cInvestment Project Implementation Unit of Yerevan Construction\u201d (PIU) to realize the construction projects.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day President Sargsyan speaks on developing the small and medium size enterprises. Now we are the representatives of that branch, but we are thrown away and the huge area is given to one owner for money making and for only an oligarch getting rich. Maybe later on we would work for him as a slave. But why? I don\u2019t want to give them my property,\u201d says Nikolay Melikyan.<\/p>\n
Nikolay is one among those 28 businessmen, who have privatized properties near Botanic Park, an area conterminous to Acharyan Avenue and Tsarav Aghbyur Street. Here there are shops of building materials and car spares, a lot of service centers, but their existence is no longer under threat.<\/p>\n
On April 21, 2005 the government came to a decision to separate the mentioned area, 9400square meters, for state needs \u2013 for construction. The mayor was assigned to provide realization of the construction projects from 2005 to 2009.<\/p>\n
For this reason in July 2006 mayor Yervand Zakharyan adopted Decision 1119-A and assigned the \u201cInvestment Project Implementation Unit of Yerevan Construction\u201d (PIU) to realize the construction projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to sign a contract and involve a partner in my business. I went to cadastre to take the corresponding document, but I wasn\u2019t given it. I knew the area was sequestrated,\u201d tells Nikolay Melikyan. So together with the other businessmen convicted to the same fate he started to send applications to state bodies.<\/p>\n
Responses of both the municipality and PIU were of analogous content: \u201cAccording to the decisions of the government and the mayor the area has been evicted for state needs. But as far as the area hasn\u2019t yet been recognized as a superior public interest, the issue can\u2019t be touched.\u201d<\/p>\n
Already on March 1, 2007 by another Decision 347-N of the government the area was recognized as superior public interest. The property alienation deadline was assigned January 1, 2009, and the mayor was authorized to conduct public bargaining \u2013 contests \u2013 of the alienated property for public and state needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to remind that when the government started to realize the so-called \u201cidea on state needs\u2019 necessity\u201d, decisions of the government were recognized unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court (CC) according to the appeal of the Ombudsman. As a result Decision 700 of the government and consequently adopted mayor\u2019s Decision 1119 are considered invalid. Moreover, mayor\u2019s decision has been adopted after the CC decision,\u201d says Sedrak Baghdasaryan, head of \u201cVictims of State Needs\u201d NGO, emphasizing that the government Decision 347-N on recognizing superior public interest has also automatically lost its force.<\/p>\n
Harutyun Vardanyan, one of the businessmen of Acharyan-Tsarav Aghbyur area, has his own formula for \u201csuperior interest\u201d: \u201cThose who hold power and have plundered a few million dollars today can legalize these sums of money in such places, and the law is in favor of them. And those who have been poignantly working all their life, who haven\u2019t plundered others earnings, today have not right to own even their properties.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have always sent written complaints, even held rallies in front of President\u2019s residence, but all in vain. Our claims are inscribed to the municipality, the last addresses them to PIU, and the same response with a changed date is always sent to us,\u201d says Melikyan.<\/p>\n
In response to another inquiry of the businessmen in March of this year PIU director Robert Harutyunyan informed that the area conterminous to Acharyan – Tsarav Aghbyur Streets has been obtained by \u201cQaranish\u201d ltd., which will order the real estate assessment located in that sector.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe met deputy mayor Karen Davtyan. He said that an announcement on holding a contest had been put in some newspaper and on the Internet, and that \u201cQaranish\u201d had won the contest. I asked whether we had to check the Internet every day to know if our properties had been sold or not. He said yes you had to know,\u201d reminds Melikyan wondering, \u201cbut why? They had to inform us, as they were selling our properties.\u201d<\/p>\n
Where has the contest information been published? When has it been held and why has the priority been given especially to \u201cQaranish\u201d ltd? It is impossible to receive answers to these questions. PIU director says the authorized body to be the municipality, which hasn\u2019t responded to their written inquiry for about two weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cMayor\u2019s decision 1119-A must report who has participated in the contest and how \u201cQaranish\u201d has won. Unfortunately I couldn\u2019t obtain that decision,\u201d says Sedrak Baghdasaryan.<\/p>\n
The \u201cHetq\u201d has that decision, but there is no a single word about the above mentioned, amazing even the director of \u201cQaranish\u201d ltd. Suren Gevorgyan: \u201cYou say you have read the mayor\u2019s decision, where there wasn\u2019t mentioned who has the winner of the area been recognized? Then you don\u2019t tell the truth you have read it\u2026 If you really get the decision, read it carefully,\u201d he assures.<\/p>\n
He too has no answers to our questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t tell you why we have won, when the contest has been held or who has participated in it, unless I have the documents with me,\u201d says Suren Gevorgyan adding that the information is enjoyed by the founders of the company. \u201cI can\u2019t say who the founders are, because I too don\u2019t know them. I\u2019m just the executive director realizing the operations for the company to survive. I\u2019m paid to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cQaranish\u201d director don\u2019t know also when the company was founded and what its business is, \u201cIt was already an exploited company, when I got a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Actually according to state registration data the only founder of \u201cQaranish\u201d founded in 2003 is Suren Gevorgyan himself. It is possible also that he is really unaware of the company being registered in his name. He conceals his being an employee of the municipality, \u201cI have nothing common with the municipality; my only relation to it is that I am a citizen of Yerevan,\u201d assures the chief engineer of \u201cYerevantrans\u201d SJVC of the municipality.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe date of realization is January the 1st. If \u201cQaranish\u201d doesn\u2019t manage, it will apply to the government to prolong the date, or the recognition of superior interest will be considered invalid,\u201d says PIU director Robert Harutyunyan. According to him public buildings, probably a trade center, will be built in the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs it a state need? If it had been a military project or a gas-pipe construction, then we would have given the area even without any compensation. But we too can build a trade center. Let them give us the plan and fix the deadline, if we didn\u2019t build, let them take it then,\u201d says businessman Vardanyan. \u201cThe area price increased for several times during the past two years, and if they really had to realize projects, they would have already solved the compensation problem. But they are not intended to pay, they are waiting for a suitable moment to drive all of us from here with tractors, the way accepted in our country. All the same they would never have the area.\u201d<\/p>\n
The businessmen say this issue being supported by deputy mayor Karen Davtyan at the municipality. Once he has been the director of PIU successfully realizing the habitants\u2019 eviction from North Avenue. Now he has been promoted and the \u201calienation\u201d has again been assigned him.<\/p>\n
P.S. Anzhela Martirosyan, head of Information and Public Relations Department of the municipality, says our questions would have been answered by deputy mayor Karen Davtyan. As far as he is on vacation, the response is late. However, Martirosyan promised that we would surely receive the answer.<\/p>\n