Shops of Diaspora Armenians Closed in Metro Underpass

The enforcement service sealed off 10 shops of Syrian Armenians located in the metro underpass at Republic Square in Yerevan. The doors of the shops have been sealed, and citizens are unsure how to quickly relocate their goods.

“We are immigrants, we live in rented accommodation; where will we go? We were proud to come to our homeland, and now we feel ashamed. We are left jobless; it’s a bad situation, I can’t say anything more; I might have issues,” they stated.

Metro spokesperson Anna Aslanyan mentioned in an interview with Tert.am that there is currently a court case underway, and the Metro is waiting for the court decision to determine who is at fault and who is correct.

Employees of the shops assert that they have a contract with the Metro valid until February-March, which allows them to continue operating. Aslanyan clarified that years ago, the Metro requested the city administration to grant this area, which was done by the mayor’s decision without compensation for a specified period.

The area has been occupied by the company “Diadi.” When the term of the free lease expired, the Metro requested the company to vacate the area. Subsequently, the Metro approached the mayor, and by the mayor’s decision, the term was extended again; however, the Metro proposed that the company leave the premises,” she explained.

According to her, the company has not vacated the area, after which individuals undertaking activities on-site—who are individual entrepreneurs—contacted the Metro leadership. “Ten individual entrepreneurs joined together for a meeting with the Metro leadership, during which they transferred their property to the Metro without compensation, and subsequently, an agreement was signed between the Metro and these ten individuals. A dispute has since arisen between ‘Diadi’ and the entrepreneurs,” she said.

She noted that ‘Diadi’ has now approached the court to understand what is happening, and the court has accepted the case. The Metro is awaiting the court’s ruling. When asked if another space would be allocated for them, the spokesperson stated that there is no information available at the moment.

After learning about the issues of the Diaspora Armenian entrepreneurs, Hovhannes Alexanderian from the Office of the High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs arrived on-site, noting that they had simply received an alert and came to understand what was happening.