FAMILY OF PLANE CRASH VICTIMS PROTEST IN FRONT OF PRESIDENT’S OFFICE

Tert.am
14:28 ~U 04.02.10

The friends and family of the pilots and crew who perished in the
May 17, 2001 plane crash on board a Yak-40 Armenian Airlines aircraft
held a rally this morning before the office of the Armenian president.

According to the demonstrators, after the accident, the state agreed
to issue compensation to support the victims’ children (as many
of those who died in the crash were the sole or at least primary
breadwinners in their families); however, though compensation was
regularly distributed for 2-3 years, afterwards, it was given out
irregularly and only after such acts of protest. From February 2008,
however, the payments have stopped coming all together.

Demonstrators said that over the years, they have appealed to various
state bodies, and even to the country’s president, but to no avail.

Further, they said that if things continue this way and their letters
of appeal continue to go unanswered, it’s possible that they will
appeal to the international community.