The issue of the demolished kiosks on Yerevan’s Abovyan Street has raised noise among residents of central Yerevan who have heard speculation that the small shops will be moved to a narrow park on Mashtots Avenue.

Last year Yerevan Municipality made a decision to prohibit the construction of trade facilities on sidewalks (in compliance with the law prohibiting sidewalk vending), which was followed by mass dismantling of shops and kiosks from sidewalks.

On Saturday, Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan deflected the speculation, saying that work now ongoing in the park is preparatory work for the café in front of the Magaryan Hospital.

However, members of “We are the Owners of This City” and “Our City” civic initiatives don’t believe the mayor, and on Monday organized a picket in Mashtots Park, because according to the picket participants, the glass structures installed in the park are the same ones which were removed from Abovyan Street.

“It is clearly seen that the same kiosks are installed here. Nonetheless, even if the construction here is held by the owner of the café, a public green area has been seized, and a public park should not undergo urban development,” says Gayane Melkomyan, one of organizers of the picket.

Leader of Armenia's Greens (Social-Ecological) Party Armenak Dovlatyan says that the activity carried out in the park is illegal, because “neither the workers nor their management possess a legal document”.

“We demand that the construction cease, because so far there isn’t any signboard that would indicate what exactly is being constructed here and what for. Hence, we can assume that it is an illegal construction,” Dovlatyan says.