Yesterday representatives of numerous NGOs held a protest action near the government building with the following posters: “Do not silence the symphony of Garni!”, “We urge you to punish the criminals!” shouted the demonstrators,” ”National wealth is being pillaged”. “We demand that the ones, who have stolen these rocks from Garni gorge, retrieve those and are punished. The rock monuments have turned into some kind of mining area, from where construction material is being processed for the construction of villas, tile settling and for the construction of the road to Garni temple,” said Tigran Simonyan, head of the nature protection board adjacent to the NA, the “A1+” informs. According to some sources, each fragment of the stone is sold at the price of 250 drams. The protesters state that the stones are used as building material for National Gallery director Paravon Mirzoyan’s private house and an Artashat church financed by Hovik Abrahamyan, RA Territorial Management Minister. The protestors extended a letter to the government and the Office of Prosecutor General. On their way from the government to the Office of Prosecutor General they met the mayor of Garni, Ashot Vardanyan, who said he saw the name of Garni on posters and wanted to know what the matter was. The mayor first told the protestors he was unaware, then he tried to excuse himself, and afterwards put his signature to the letter demanding punishment for wrongdoers. “Let them punish the culprits,” said Vardanyan. The protestors extended a letter to the government and the Office of Prosecutor General and the government.
