Epress.am News from Armenia
The buildings constructed in Mashtots Park will not be permanent and they will be moved, said Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan in a meeting on Tuesday with Yerevan mayor Taron Margaryan and a group of architects, according to a statement issued by the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, of which Sargsyan is a member.
The prime minister noted that the president has instructed the situation regarding the park become a subject of discussion.
Recall, environmental and civic activists have been camped out nearly every day for over two weeks in the central Yerevan park, protesting the construction of shops that were dismantled on Abovyan St. and moved to Mashtots Park, one of the few remaining green spaces in the Armenian capital.
“This project has to be confirmed also by the government so that there is public trust that this problem will be solved. I, generally, am against the placing of permanent pavilions, and I have to do everything [possible] so that those pavilions are moved. There shouldn’t be permanent pavilions in parks. There is a problem of green spaces in Yerevan, and I am displeased that there is major construction happening there,” he said yesterday.
Tigran Sargsyan also mentioned that the Armenian National Congress’ statement that civil society has developed in Armenia left a great impression on him. “The authorities are obliged to present to the public the logic and necessity of their decisions and to hear the public’s opinion. We are obliged to strengthen civil society and constantly dialogue with our public, including also in the field of architecture,” he said.
The architects welcomed Sargsyan’s proposal to move certain state functions (structures) from Yerevan to the regions so that each city in Armenia has a particular focus or specialization. “The proportionate regional development of Armenia also has an architectural aspect to it. All [state] functions have become centralized in Yerevan, which impedes also the proportionate developed of the regions. We have to think about how we can unburden the capital,” he said.
Taron Margaryan stated that he is ready to collaborate with the Union of Architects of Armenia and to find solutions to current problems in the capital.
“I’m convinced that as a result of cooperating with you we will see the Yerevan that we want to see. Yerevan has to be comfortable for our citizens and its residents,” he said.