Participants of the meeting besieged the Presidential Residence

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| 14:57:34 | 08-06-2005 | Social |

PARTICIPANTS OF THE MEETING BESIEGED THE PRESIDENTIAL RESIDENCE

This morning from 10:00 a.m. numerous policemen defended the Presidential
Residence from the participants of the demonstration. They were the
residents of several center streets (North Avenue, Buzand, Koghbaci, Erznka
streets and Kond) who are evicted from their houses because of the
construction works realized `for state needs’. They had difference posters
in their hands. Their main question to Robert Kocharyan was, `Where shall we
go?’ `We were evicted `for state needs’, said the other poster.

The residents of the North Avenue who have been struggling for the last 1.5
year to restore their violated rights turn to Kocharyan, `We have received
too little money with which we cannot buy houses. We are left shelterless’.
The 2 000 dollars given to each person during the eviction is not enough to
buy a house even in the suburbs of Yerevan. `I was given 3 500 dollars. What
can I do with that sum?’ said a 67-year-old woman who has lived most of his
life in the North Avenue.

Although there is no construction and eviction program in the Kond district
(yet), the residents of that district have reasons to join the
demonstration. `We have fears that tomorrow we will deserve the same fate’.
It is already the second year that in the Kond district the privatization
documents are not given to the residents, and young people returning from
the army or getting married are not registered in their houses. This will
provide a small number of people registered in the district and thus, small
sums of money given to people. By the way, in Kond about 130 thousand people
live today.