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Yerevan’s newly appointed mayor Karen Karapetyan ordered a clampdown on illegal street trade in the streets of the city early this year in what many believed would be a short-lived measure ending in a letup and continuation of the practice – as had occurred under the previous mayors.

But unlike his predecessors, Karapetyan appears to be resolute about stamping out street trade, which is seen to be unsanitary in some cases, unsophisticated, and often a means for small-time dealers to skirt tax and licensing. “There will be no street trade,” the mayor reiterated recently addressing a meeting of the Municipality’s Council of Elders.

Street trade was banned still by the 2004 legislation, but that ban had been laxly enforced until recently. The full enforcement of the Law “On Trade and Services”, however, impacted the business operations of hundreds of people and their families and it is several weeks that they have staged protests near the Yerevan Mayor’s Office demanding fair treatment.

Municipality Department of Trade and Services specialist Hovhannes Ghalechyan says what the city authorities are doing now is just the continuation of the previous attempts to deal with illegal street trade.

The Municipality offers space at any of Yerevan’s 30 covered markets to about 3,000 people who until recently were engaged in illegal trading activities in the city streets.

“We have clear arrangements with directors of markets that they offer discounts (on overhead expenses) in the initial period, until buyers also move to markets to make purchases,” says Ghalechyan. “We see it as an irreversible process, because thousands of Yerevanians have welcomed this decision.”

A normal charge for operating a counter at a covered market is 1,300-1,500 drams ($3.50-$4) a day. Meanwhile, selling goods outside without permission would mostly be free of charge for petty traders, but it is believed they would still have to give some kickbacks to some people in charge of “exercising control”, such as police, etc..

According to the municipality’s data, some 200 former street traders have already agreed to shift their operations into marketplaces and their number is growing.

Meanwhile, members coordinating the protesting group of street traders issued a statement on Wednesday in which they say that wholesale markets are not an alternative for them.

“Is it so hard to understand that we are not importers or owners of importing businesses, but we are resellers and our income is generated owing to that small difference in the wholesale and retail prices of goods? If today we prefer conducting our trade in the open air, in the wind, rain, cold and heat to the convenience of markets, it means we have already had the unpleasant experience of working in markets encountering problems that remain invisible for you,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, the municipality official says that, for example, a preliminary agreement has been reached with the director of the Erebuni market that space there will be given to traders free of charge for a period of up to six months. The city authorities also intend to build several mini-markets.

Nine proposals have already been received initial approval from the mayor, projects have been submitted to designers and up to five such small markets could be built already this year.

But traders continue to oppose these plans.

Hasmik Khachatryan, 55, who sold socks and knitted wear near Yerevan’s train station, tells ArmeniaNow: “If they had the idea of creating mini-markets, they should have done so before starting all this. (Instead) within a week they destroyed people’s pavilions and booths that were their only sources of income.”

Traders, meanwhile, said they are being urged not to turn their social protest into a political one – something that the main opposition alliance has been calling for.

“Tell us, please, if there is a social problem that keeps growing like a snowball and does not get a solution, what can it turn into if the authorities hold the key to its solution? We have two options – either to put up with our status as slaves or rebel and fight for our rights,” the traders said in their statement.