North Avenue-Cascade: Parliamentary Hearings on Property Rights Violations

On October 7, parliamentary hearings themed "Problems of Property Rights Violations Due to the State Recognizing the North Avenue-Cascade Project as a Unique Public Interest" will take place in the Assembly Hall at the initiative of the Speaker of the National Assembly, Ararat Mirzoyan.

This was announced by Gayané Abrahamyan, a member of the "My Step" faction and a deputy in the Armenian National Assembly, on her Facebook page.

"Dear citizens, the parliamentary hearings will aim to uncover cases of fundamental rights violations of citizens whose properties have been expropriated through forced confiscation for public need, identify legal violations occurring at different phases of the process, initiate discussions on the necessity for legislative changes, and explore possible legal avenues for the restoration of the violated property rights of citizens during those years," she stated.

Abrahamyan emphasized, "Some of the most terrible crimes are those committed by the state under the guise of 'public interest,' targeting citizens and their constitutional rights, while the institutions meant to protect the citizen become instrumental in systematically trampling on these rights. Unfortunately, throughout the history of independent Armenia, there have been numerous instances of violations of citizens' rights by previous governments. Each of these cases is a stain on our state, a disgrace to our constitution, our statehood, the dignity of citizens, and to each of us. In 2000, the process of mass dispossession of citizens began in Armenia through government decisions made on November 25 and subsequent expropriation and development decisions. Violations have been recorded during the preparation, assessment, appeal, and enforcement phases of property alienation under the guise of 'public need,' which were documented by the Human Rights Defender, independent journalists, and human rights advocates, as well as in the precedential judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

I am convinced that the path to building a truly democratic and legal state is blocked as long as we do not cleanse this stain, do not disclose and reopen buried cases, and do not restore the rights of disempowered citizens. The restoration of the rights of citizens dispossessed of their properties through forced expropriation for state needs was a fundamental provision of the electoral program of the My Step alliance, and now we are beginning to implement it step by step. The first step is the initiation of parliamentary hearings. I would appreciate the sharing of this post.

Photo by Haik Bianjyan