Employees of Surmalu and Petak Hold Protest

Employees of the Surmalu and Petak shopping centers have demanded the reopening of Kristapor Street, as its one-sided closure has adversely impacted their business. One employee stated, “Why is this road closed? People are not coming to the market because the Ministry of Environment has announced that the air is polluted within a radius of 60 km. Now let someone come; we will ask them, is there a human rights defender in Armenia? You can see there are 2000 people standing here; what should these people do? We have no owner, there's no management, nothing. Our owner is God.”

Another employee added that the merchants are not to blame for the explosion, and the relevant authorities are obliged to open the road. “Our request is that the road be opened. They can only seal off the exploded building with red tape, although there is no danger. Currently, no work is being conducted in the area of the exploded building,” he said.

The shopping centers have been informed that the road will remain closed until December 31, and it is still unclear when it will open in January. “Now we do not understand who is handling this issue. Is it the city hall? Is it the human rights defender? Let us understand who is dealing with this matter. These people do not eat grass; we all know why this is happening. We do not want to play our cards. We are waiting for a response; if there is no response, the Petak will remain closed tomorrow as well, and the day after that,” the employee remarked.

The employees mentioned that the police are directing citizens towards Sevani Street.