Tearing Down Old Yerevan
Ophelia Vartanian, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online
With news just in that human rights lawyer Vahe Grigoryan has been released from detention by the former KGB, the National Security Service (NSS), it seems only right to link to a story that fellow blogger Garo (AKA Christian Garbis) and I recently worked on. Garo wrote of the continuing destruction of old buildings to make room for yet another land grab in central Yerevan while I took the pics. The article was published on Monday by Hetq Online.
Ophelia Vartanian has been living in the neighborhood since 1953, when she moved from Tbilisi at the age of 22 to marry her husband, Albert. She worked for over 30 years in the food market that had occupied the first floor of the apartment building at 3 Nalbandyan Street since its completion until it finally closed in 2002. Now she lives on an insignificant pension of a few thousand drams.
“We’re expected to leave here, but as soon as a contract is given to us to sign, once we have agreed on a price. But we haven’t heard anything because the guy’s taken off.”
To date about 50 homes have been completely ripped out. Approximately 1,000 residents relocated to parts unknown. They were given sums of money from a private developer, the sums of which they did not reveal to others. Although the price per square meter of land in central Yerevan is averaging $1,500, residents living in neighborhoods slated for demolition are paid a fraction of their property’s actual worth.
[…]
Four years ago the Vartanians were informed that they would soon have to leave and would be paid about $5,000. Then recently they were told that each person in the family would receive an individual payment. However, Albert and Ophelia’s oldest son’s wife and children are not officially registered as residents of their home, thus they are not entitled to receive payment.
The Vartanians find it useless to seek legal action since recent lawsuits filed against the authorities by residents to protect their rights have resulted in suppression by intimidation, beatings, or arrest. Last October public defender Vahe Grigoryan, who was defending residents of Buzand Street, was arrested on allegedly trumped up charges of extortion and forgery of documents by the National Security Service (aka KGB) and was reportedly beaten. He may receive a conviction of up to 10 years in prison.
Ophelia does not want to leave, nor does anyone else in her family, including her ninth-grade grandson. But they realize that eventually they will have to clear out.
“If I’m not offered an amount that’s high enough to buy a new home somewhere else, then I’m not going to sign a contract, if that even happens,” Ophelia explained. “Why should I give up my home if there is nowhere else for me to go?”
Hopefully, with Grigoryan now free, citizens such as the Vartanians can now seek access to legal protection from greedy and corrupt property developers in Yerevan — and yes, it is a matter of corruption and the abuse of power. In fact, this is the response to some questions I sent to Sona Ayvazyan at Transparency International in Armenia. I received the email today, and the questions specifically relate to the construction that Garo wrote about.
When a construction project like this is started, should the local community be informed and be allowed to present its own opinion, feedback or concerns? If so, was this done?
Yes, local community should be informed about the planned changes before the decision takes place and it has to be given opportunity to get acquainted with documents and participate in hearings to be organized by the Mayor. I don’t think anything like this has been done. Even if the residents of old shelters were informed, there needs to be an official notification, e.g. in a newspaper and a discussion.
What is due to be built in place of the old houses there and do we know who owns this land now?
I just know that in blocks like this they usually plan to build 1-3 multiple storey buildings and green the yards. I don’t know who owns or leases this specific area and what is planned to have there.
Are there any other concerns that Transparency International has?
We continue to raise this issue of public notificaiton and discussions continuiously as, fortunately, it’s not only a requirement of the Aarhus Covention, but also national legislation on urban development and environmental protection. Nothing has changed so far, except that we attend the Mayor’s Urban Development Council meetings from time to time, so become aware about the development in various areas of the city (mainly the center) and complain about the processes.
A larger version of the photo at the top of this post has been uploaded to the Hetq Photoblog.
Update: 16 Feb 2006 – As Armyouth states, there have been no media reports that I’ve seen so far confirming that Vahe Grigoryan has been released. However, both Armyouth and Human Rights in Armenia seem pretty confident that this is the case, so I really hope that it is.
At last, confirmation from the media.
A1 Plus | 18:22:16 | 16-02-2006 | Social |
THE ADVOCATE FREED FROM JAIL
Executive manager of “Right” Lawyers’ Centre Vahe Grigoryan is free now. Yesterday in the Court of Appeal 10 advocates challenged the decision about imprisonment.
It should be marked, that Vahe Grigoryan was accused of swindle, but some remedial organizations think the main reason of arrest was defence of 4 families from Byuzand street.
February 1 the terms of preventive punishment of the advocate were prolonged and the advocates appealed the decision. Up today Vahe Grigoryan has been in the cell of National Security Service.
http://www.a1plus.am/eng/?go=print&id=36000
Comment by Onnik — February 16, 2006 @ 8:04 pm
Human Rights Lawyer Set Free, For Now
By Lusine Grigorian
A human rights lawyer, who was controversially arrested last October after helping evicted residents of Yerevan sue the Armenian government, was unexpectedly released from a maximum-security prison late on Wednesday.
Vahe Grigorian was set free immediately after an appeals court ruled to put an end to his pre-trial detention. The Review Court struck down a lower court’s decision last week to allow the National Security Service (NSS) to keep him under arrest for two more months.
[…]
“To be honest, the Review Court ruling took me by surprise because the same court had twice upheld what I consider to be unfounded rulings handed down by the court of first instance,” Grigorian told RFE/RL on Thursday.
[…]
It is not yet clear whether Wednesday’s verdict was a rare court setback for the Armenian successor to the Soviet KGB or signals its intention to drop the charges. As things stand now, Grigorian, may still go on trial and again end up in jail. He has been described as a “political prisoner” by Armenia’s leading human rights groups
“I hope yesterday’s ruling was handed for purely legal considerations,” the lawyer said. “But it’s hard to tell what happened in reality.” He said he will continue to represent interests of the evicted residents in any case.
http://www.armenialiberty.org/armeniareport/report/en/2006/02/4D5AA9FF-66DD-4DA0-BEC8-657BE2FC9006.ASP
Comment by Onnik — February 16, 2006 @ 9:28 pm
The architecture of Yerevan: Balance needed between old and new
21 Sep 2005
Dear Sirs,
It was with interest that I read the press release regarding the construction of Amirian Plaza, a complex of shops, restaurants, and exhibition halls being built in Amirian Street in the heart of Yerevan. I walk past the row of beautiful old two story red brick buildings that are going to be demolished to build Amirian Plaza every day. Why is Yerevan so intent on destroying the few remnants of old Yerevan that are left? Can’t old and new architecture co-exist?
I do agree fully that that Yerevan needs to be spruced up. New, more functional buildings need to be built. Some old buildings need to be torn down as they have no architectural value; others need to be partially or fully preserved. But let’s avoid the mad rush towards modernity. Let’s find a balance between the old and new. The row of red brick buildings that are being demolished to build Amirian Plaza are of particular architectural value, as they are unique with their small, intricate brick patterns in a city otherwise dominated by large, rather clumpy toof stone block buildings. Somehow, these facades should be kept and incorporated into the façade of the new complex.
Cities across Europe (Stockholm in particular) and the U.S. have already learned the hard way that tearing down all the old and building shiny new ones detracts from the atmosphere of the city, makes it less people-friendly, and thus less enjoyable and most importantly, less economically viable. A city with the flavor of the old attracts more tourists and makes more money, thus making this not only a question of taste and architecture, but also of income for the city of Yerevan and its businessmen.
This is not to say that every old building in Yerevan should be preserved as is. In many other cities abroad, the facades are kept standing, while a new building is attached to the back of it. Thus, the old flavor of the façade of the building is kept, while the function is as a new building. Indeed, in Yerevan, everyone knows that when each stone of the façade of an old building is numbered in white paint, that that building is doomed to be torn down, the façade carted away stone by stone, and perhaps built somewhere else in the city at a later date. A couple such buildings have already been built in the street behind the Prime Minister’s office on Republic Square- old façade, new building behind. They look like they have always been there. I would encourage the city of Yerevan to do more such projects in the center of the city.
But getting back to those beautiful old small red brick buildings in Amirian Street… A few of them are still standing, one of them with a tattered Armenian flag waving from a frameless window. For the benefit of every citizen of Yerevan who walks by it every day (like myself), and for every Armenian from abroad who is going to visit Armenia during the next generation or two, let the facades stand as a symbol of old Yerevan.
Timothy D. Straight
CEO, TAL plc
Yerevan
Tim Straight was born in the United States to parents of Norwegian ancestry. He moved to Norway in the 1980s and to Armenia in 2000 where he headed up the Norwegian Refugee Council and was the Norwegian Consul to Armenia until 2005. He retains his post as the Norwegian Consul. He is the proprietor of the Biaini and Tulip shops on Amirian Street.
Retrieved from “http://www.armeniapedia.org/index.php?title=Tim_Straight”
Comment by Tim Straight — August 28, 2007 @ 10:50 pm
I observe with pain and profound sorrow how semi-literate, narrow-minded nouveaux rich elites and their subservient municipal bureaucrats and architects destroy the dear image of old Yerevan, my once beautiful city.
Diaspora Armenians, eghbairner ev quirer! Please, STOP implementing any projects or make investments that can directly or indirectly benefit the anti-popular, unelected, and self-centered rulers. By demolishing or relocating old buildings and by erecting tasteless Europhile buildings in downtown Yerevan, they not only force impoverished dwellers out of their homes but eradicate the very memory that Yerevantsis have for their city. Why are they doing this? Material profit and a drive to attract foreigners is one reason. Another, and to me, more deep-seated one, is because the majority of those elites is provincials. I do not believe that a genuine Yerevantsi could destroy his own city with such an ease than an uninvited new-comer from provincial Karabakh does. These constructions are anti-popular: they are rejected by the overwhelming majority of Yerevan citizens.
Please respect the feelings of people who remained in their native city despite all odds, unimaginable hardships and deprivations that fell upon them during Armenian independence years!
Comment by Gayane — August 29, 2007 @ 8:38 pm