Armenian Ombudsman: It is already time for law-enforcers to tackle Indoor Market problem

It is the law enforcers, not the ministries or the Municipality that should tackle the problem of the Indoor Market in Yerevan, says the statement of Karen Andreasyan, Human Rights Defender of Armenia.     

He says that the ongoing construction in the area of the Indoor Market is illegal and this has repeatedly been stated by the Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Yerevan.  

Andreasyan says that according to the latest statement of the Yerevan Municipality, the director of "Yerevan Market No.1" LLC was informed of the need to remove the illegal structures in the market area in Mashtots Avenue. However, the demands of the Municipality have not been satisfied and the illegal construction has been completed.  

"In this context, the position of the law enforcers is not clear. The Criminal Code of Armenia provides for criminal responsibility both for the failure to stop the illegal construction by an individual or a legal entity following imposition of a double administrative penalty and for the relevant officials' failure to stop the unauthorized construction of the buildings. The law enforcers have refused to institute a criminal case in relation to both the specified cases and the cases of demolition of the historical and cultural monuments.  However, the reasonableness of these decisions will be put in issue", says Andreasyan.       

To recall, despite the vehement public protests, the construction in the area of the Indoor Market is still going on. According to media reports, the Indoor Market has turned from a historical monument into an ordinary supermarket and will open on September 15. The owner of the Indoor Market is oligarch- parliamentarian Samvel Alexanyan.