A gas station in the Armenian capital, owned by the father-in-law of an opposition MP, is being dismantled despite having a permit to operate

ArmInfo. In Yerevan's Ajapnyak district, municipal authorities are dismantling a gas station on Shinararneri Street. It belongs to Sasun Arakelyan, the father-in-law of Armenia faction MP Mesrop Manukyan. Notably, the work began after the opposition MP intervened in the demolition of construction stores and kiosks on the street, which violated Armenian law.

Then, Ajapnyak district head Serob Sargsyan, speaking to journalists, attempted to shift their attention from the illegal demolition of the commercial premises to the MP himself. He specifically stated that Manukyan defended the retail owners not so much out of a desire to help them, but out of personal interest, since a gas station owned by his father-in-law is located nearby.

In a conversation with journalists on October 15, Sargsyan stated that the gas station was being demolished because it was an illegal structure. However, the district head did not explain why the issue of demolishing the station, which has existed for several decades, was being raised now. "There are about 60 illegally constructed structures on the street. Whether they've been there for 20, 30, or 35 years—it doesn't matter. Now we've come here, promising our citizens that public spaces must be cleared. I can't say why this wasn't done before." "We've dismantled about 60 similar structures, and now we've reached this point," Sargsyan stated.

When asked who, in this case, authorized the construction of the gas station and on what basis, the district head essentially admitted that the relevant permits were in place. According to him, according to documents, the first permit for its construction was issued in 1997, and the facility was expanded in the 2000s. "I've been in this position for two years, and we've been carrying out similar work every day. It's not like we've been doing nothing for these past two years. There's a corresponding mayoral decision on demolition, with all the justifications," added the head of the Ajapnyak administrative district.

At the same time, he denied the suggestion that the gas station's demolition was connected to Manukyan's involvement in the demolition of kiosks and shops on Shinararneri Street. As before, Sargsyan again stated that the deputy came not so much to protect the interests of retail owners as for personal reasons. He also failed to provide a coherent answer to the question of why the municipality was demolishing a gas station that had all the necessary permits from the authorities.

It should be noted that Manukyan, commenting on the situation earlier, stated that the gas station was built in the 1990s, had title deeds, and the lease was still in effect.