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Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor applied to the court with the claim to cease the construction works at Vanadzor’s Artsakh Park on January 24, 2018.

The construction works at the park commenced from last year’s October. Following this, the mass media alerted that the construction works at Artsakh Park, which is considered to be a monument under the decision of the RA Government, were being conducted without the consent of the competent authorities.

In 2006, after handing it over to Vanadzor’s City Council without compensation, it was alienated to G & M LLC for the reconstruction and maintenance of the outdoor café and recreational area. Later, in 2014, Artsakh Park was already excluded from the list of protected lands in the redeveloped design of the master plan approved by Vanadzor’s Council of Elders.

Vanadzor’s City Council granted a construction permit to G & M LLC on October 12, 2017.

On November 15, 2017 HCA Vanadzor turned to Mayor of Vanadzor M. Aslanyan in connection with the issue of ceasing the construction works being conducted at the park without the consent of the Ministry of Culture and receiving information on the significance of the area including the park, its alienation and the permit for the construction works being conducted there.

M. Aslanyan did not see any grounds for suspending the construction.

At the same time, inquiries were submitted to the RA Ministry of Culture, the Regional Administration of Lori Province and the RA State Urban Development Committee to find out if there was consent from competent bodies regarding the proposal for land allocation and the sketches of the buildings to be constructed. In the first two cases the response was the same – Vanadzor’s City Council did not submit a proposal to request consent. And the State Urban Development Committee informed that Artsakh Park is considered to be a monument and is included in the Map of State and Cultural Monuments of the master plan.

In accordance with the provisions of the Land Code of the RA, it is prohibited both to transfer the lands of historic and cultural importance to other persons with the right of ownership and to perform any act that contradicts their target and operational significance. And when conducting construction works, the designs should be agreed by competent bodies. In this particular case none of the aforementioned norms has been maintained; thus, the construction at Artsakh Park is being implemented with a gross breach of law.

Taking into consideration the aforementioned circumstances, HCA Vanadzor turned to the Mayor of Vanadzor with the same question for the second time. Upon receiving a rejection once again, on January 24, 2018 a claim against Vanadzor’s Mayor M. Aslanyan was filed with the RA Administrative Court with the claim to immediately suspend the construction works.

The source of the photograph: hetq.am