On March 10 the service of Compulsory Enforcement of Judicial Orders sealed the door of "Milano" store ("Olymp" LTD) on Abovyan Street. Despite the fact that CEJO had given owners of "Olymp" LTD time till March 12 to leave the area, they could not wait any more; they came early in the morning and evicted them. The real owner of the area, Hovanes Ghukasyan, was in confusion and did not intervene in the eviction procedure.

CEJO employees did not allow reporters enter the store and be present at the inventory and estimation. Entrance into the store was forbidden, and reporters were for several hours filming from behind the window glasses.

According to Tigran Hayrapetyan, representative of the store owner Hovanes Ghukasyan, they received the notice of eviction at midnight and it was impossible to take out the clothes from the store at non-working hours.

Hovanes Ghukasyan is evicted from the area not only as owner of "Olymp" LTD but also as a physical person from his own house. Despite the eviction, Ghukasyan has not yet received compensation from the new owner of the area with whom he had to sign a contract.

Karagulian had offered Ghukasyan 200 million dram compensation only for the first floor of the two-storied building, 125 square meters. The store itself is three-storied, not considering the roof and the basement. Ghukasyan has not received also the offered 200 million drams.

Lawyer Hayrapetyan says that if the area is considered supreme public interest, the owner in a reasonable time period should have had a chance to get the compensation to purchase area in some other place and move there.  

"In accord with Article 31 of the Constitution and the Law on Alienation of Property for Public and State Needs, if the state takes your area, there should be preliminary compensation, i.e. the sum should be given in the beginning," the lawyer says. "The same law specifies a two month time period before moving out, and the Chairman of the court demands to sign a contract, and then get the compensation."  

On February 19 Hovanes Ghukasyan sent a letter to Serzh Sargsyan claiming that he has been "illegally deprived of his property". However there was no response.

The section of the street where the "Milano" store is located has been recognized a supreme public interest. "Avo FMH" has been recognized a purchaser of the area, and Diaspora Armenian Avetis Karagulian is its head.  

Christine Vardanyan