Despite of arson, the DIY club,
situated in the centre of capital Yerevan, continues to host its visitors. They
come in evenings, sit in the yard of the club, and while having a beer, discuss
the question that in Armenia there are dozens of youth, who share fascist ideology,
restricting freedoms of citizens of RA.

Various prominent artists and NGO representatives,
civil activists gather here. DIY, in accordance with the RA Constitution and
international acts, does not accept any discrimination on the basis of sex or
religion.

They believe that the attack by two
extreme nationalists on May 8 be motivated by the fact that people gathering at
the DIY club observe the law and want to live free in an independent country.
As a result of the arson, tables, chairs shelves, refrigerators, drinks, air
conditioner, cashier’s machine and wooden items were destroyed. The owner of
the bar, Tsomak Oganezova, who is also a well-known rock singer in Armenia, says
that the bar is put on fire by the nationalists who appeared earlier nearby the
bar with posters “Dark Armenian Powerful”. According to her, there are more
than 40 people in this informal group, which is backed by powerful sponsors.

Prior to this incident, Oganezova’s bicycle was
stolen and also DIY and nearby clubs’ employees were threatened.

Only after the noise raised in social networks
and the intervention of respected in Armenia people the RA police started
working on this case and arrested two suspects: Mkrtich Kh., born in 1992 and
Hambik Kh., born in 1993.

The police found out that the suspects, based on
initial agreement to destroy the property of the bar, broke the window of DIY
club, registered under “Made Hand Made” LTD, and threw the bottle, filled with
gas, into the bar, causing an arson in the building.

“I respect the owners of the club, because they
expressed very clearly their civil position on various environmental and other
important issues. That is the reason that I reacted immediately when I was
informed that the police shows inaction in this case. And although there are
suspects detained, I will continue my support until the issue of compensation
is solved,” says deputy of the National Assembly of RA, member of Heritage
political party Zaruhi Postanjian.

The concert in support of DIY club was attended
by the chairman of the party, Raffi Hovhannisyan, who said that such anti-human
ideology caused Genocide of Armenians in 1915, and that such a behavior is
unbecoming for Armenians.

The bar owner Oganezova takes her guitar and
tells in the language of rock music that they will fight to the end, and “there
will be no fascism in Armenia”. The same idea is repeated by the civil
activists supporting the club.

P.S. Suspect Mkrtich Kh. was released by the First
Instance Court of Kentron and Nork-Marashdistricts on the
bail of 1000000 AMD, and Hambik Kh. was released on condition of not leaving the
country. According to the point 1 of the Article 185, part 3 of the Criminal
Code of Armenia, deliberate damage of other’s property is charged by
imprisonment from two to six years. The case is in the stage of preliminary
investigation.