Baku Today, Azerbaijan
June 22 2005
Fresh Protests Against `Land Grab’ In Yerevan
22/06/2005 04:05
The Armenian government’s ongoing land allocations in Yerevan sparked
a fresh controversy on Tuesday as tenants of an orchard in the city’s
northern outskirts protested against its planned sale to wealthy
businessmen.
The once barren patch of land stretching along a highway was leased
free of charge to about a hundred residents of the nearby Kanaker
district 15 years ago. They have since planted there hundreds of
fruit trees that now help them make a living.
The government continues to formally own the land and apparently
intends to sell much of it to wealthy individuals keen to build
gasoline stations and other businesses there. Local residents say a
3,500 square-meter plot of the land have already been sold to private
investors.
The deal was declared illegal by a Yerevan court of first instance
earlier this year. However, the ruling was later overturned by a
higher court.
About 50 tenants gathered outside the government building in the
capital to demand a halt to the privatization which hey claimed is
accompanied by corrupt practices. `Now whoever pays a bribe gets a
plot of land,’ charged Ashot Gevorgian, a university professor whose
family has grown fruit in the orchard for over a decade.
`I cherish my trees and flowers like my children,’ said another
protester. `Now they are telling us to get out.’
Organizers of the protest were received by Prime Minister Andranik
Markarian and said he promised to look into their grievances. `We
hope that the prime minister will indeed pay attention and solve the
issue,’ one of them said.
The government faced similar protests last year when it announced
plans to auction off a much bigger and older orchard near the city
center. It eventually agreed to make concessions to some low-income
580 families that have long cultivated the land.
A massive government-sanctioned redevelopment program currently
implemented in downtown Yerevan has also stirred controversy. Scores
of old houses have been torn down to make room for expensive office
and apartment buildings that are being constructed by private real
estate developers.
Many of the house owners have complained that the financial
compensation paid to them is disproportionately low, accusing senior
government officials of cashing in on the lucrative deals. Some of
them have likewise taken to the streets to demand more hefty sums.
Owners of the few remaining houses subject to demolition protested
Tuesday outside President Robert Kocharian’s residence for a second
consecutive day. They said officials from the presidential
administration refuse to meet with them. The protest followed a
forcible eviction last week of a family that lived in one such house
in the city center.
The Armenian authorities insist that the land allocations have been
fair and deny corruption allegations.