Dashnak MP sends letter to Yerevan mayor amid environmental protest.

While environmentalists continue their protest in Yerevan’s Mashtots Park, Vahan Hovhannisyan, a member of the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D) faction in parliament, has sent a letter to Yerevan mayor Taron Margaryan, calling for measures to reconcile the municipality’s plan with public concerns.

“The municipality-launched urban development and construction work in the vicinities of Yerevan’s central avenue has caused serious public concerns, spurring a wave of protests by environmental and other non-governmental organizations.

Considering that the activities are being carried out in green areas considered public property under the Yerevan plan;

Taking into account the fact that the [construction] implies a change of environment;

Also considering that the current activities are in the interests and the environmental and cultural problems of the capital city and its residents;

Guiding myself by Articles 12, 13 and 14 of the Republic of Armenia law on Urban Development, I request you to organize, within the shortest possible timeframes, a public discussion to raise awareness of the Municipality’s projects on the above territory, as well as listen to the interested individuals and organizations’ views,” reads the letter.