First letter to Karen Karapetyan
Members of the "We are the owners of this city" civil initiative have addressed a letter to newly elected mayor Karen Karapetyan.
"Our civil initiative launched during the fight against the infamous construction that began at the Student Park in Yerevan in April.
Unfortunately, in the past months we have also been forced to get into conflicts at Komitas 5a, the park of the Main Avenue, the kindergarten of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Dragon Square, 72 Sarkavag Street and many other addresses where residents have dealt with illegal alienation or renting of green areas that are important for rest and health. Only at Komitas 5a were we able to reach a positive solution. The other issues remain and in some cases, the residents desperately fight for environmental conservation.
We believe that the appropriation of lands in public parks for private interests has reached its climax, leaving only a couple of trees that no longer produce enough oxygen for citizens of Yerevan. It is time for the community of Yerevan to allocate sufficient funds for taking care of and repairing public parks.
It was very difficult for us to receive information from the former mayor and solve issues since the residents came face-to-face with closed, confidential decisions and the officials' denial.
Welcoming your purpose to form a new culture of management in Yerevan, we hope that the above mentioned issues will be solved through dialogue and constructive solutions. It is obvious that the most troubling issue of our concern is the Student Park which is currently under destruction. As citizens involved in issues concerning Yerevan, we are ready to put in our efforts to have a green city where residents feel that they are the full-fledged owners of this city.
Taking the opportunity, we propose to organize a meeting to discuss the current environmental issues facing the capital," as stated in the letter.
