Lusine Budaghyan

"It's a technical inaccuracy," claimed Arsen Lalayants, Deputy Head of the City Archetechture and Construction Department. The parcel of land announced as up for auction in the July 31, 2004 issue of Hayastani Hanrapetutyun was not really in the district of Avan as stated in the notice, but rather, in Kanaker-Zeitun. This 'technical' inaccuracy has had several consequences, casting doubt on the true nature of this error.

"That was just a misunderstanding; that was not done on purpose, it's just a typo. Many times our employees have typed a different text about an auction into an existing text, and the address comes out wrong," said Lalayants.

Suren Yeghyan and four other residents of the building at 151/4 Zakaria Sarkavag Street in the Kanaker-Zeitun district had no inkling that this announcement had any connection with their pieces of land. Yet apparently, it did, so for the past year, these families have been waging a battle to save the fertile gardens which they have tended on this very land in the vicinity of Tbilisi Road.

The gardens created on barren land by these residents have been sold to Tigran Ltd as a site for the future construction of a garage for mechanical automobile repairs. Tigran Ltd won the 3,500 square meters of land in a competition. In the face of their bewildered complaints, the new owner has told the residents' group to vacate the land in question, dismissing their questions with the easy answer of the dispossessor: "Go wherever you want to go."

Yeghyan recalls the loving dedication the residents poured into the rocky, barren area. It was no mean feat to irrigate it, carrying water in buckets, and to fertilize the ground with tons of black soil. "We've planted more than 500 fruit-trees and taken care of them. After the hard work of so many years, they are taking our land, saying that it's been sold. There is no other green area or park for kids near our houses; there are only the gardens we've planted," he explains.

The residents have noted other curious inaccuracies in this case. Not only was the auction carried out on the basis of the misleading announcement, but neither were the former owners given the right of precedence as those in possession of the land. Further, the property in question was listed in auction records as a vegetable-garden. However, "There are about 500 15- to 17-year-old fruit-trees in our gardens," protest the residents.

We asked Lalayants if it was another "technical mistake" that the announcement listed the property as a "vegetable-garden". His answer consisted of another technicality. "Any fenced-in area being used for economic purposes is considered a vegetable-growing area regardless of whether tomatoes or trees are being grown there. Agriculture is not an appropriate activity within the city. The city is not intended for such use as planting fruit gardens or vegetables, but rather for urban construction. The area in question is state property. It cannot be used as a garden but should be put up for auction only with the express purpose of being a built site. In this case, there is no right of precedence because that area will no longer be the same after the construction, and that will make it a different territory. In addition, we periodically organize auctions for construction sites. Just like any other Armenian citizens they (the resident gardeners) can learn about the auction and participate in it; no one is excluded." Lalayants could not explain how the residents were supposed to learn about the auction if, due to his office's " technical mistake", the auction announcement listed another parcel altogether.

On their side, the former owners of the garden believe that an auction for that address was not actually organized at all, or even if it was, "It was a sham, because they had already decided right from the start who was going to be the new owner." According to the information the residents have gathered, the new owner is Harutyun Karagiozyan (aka Caramel Harut), director of the company Sweetland , and delegate from the Shengavit District.

There are some other facts with respect to the previous standing of the resident group. In 2003, Suren Yeghyan applied to the District government of Kanaqer-Zeitun requesting a clarification of the legal status of this piece of land under his use. The District put forth no objection and furthered the application to the City Municipality , stating that "The said piece of land corresponds to the requirements of the 2 nd point of article 72 of the Land Code." This point stipulates that the citizen has honestly used the land for more than ten years and has a right of precedence in obtaining ownership of the land. However, the City did not approve the resident's request, noting that it would deal with questions about that parcel only after finishing the drawing of the cadastre map for that area. In accordance with that information, the residents had been waiting for the completion of the cadastre map of this parcel, so that they could accomplish its privatization. Somehow, during this waiting period, the new owner, Tigran Ltd was able to obtain a certificate of ownership for this very same piece of land.

Another puzzling fact has emerged. About two months ago, Yeghyan obtained a document from the State Committee of Real Estate Cadastre for the District of Arabkir. This document states that "The drawing of the map for the area near Tbilisi Road was implemented and finished in 2001." Why then, were the residents told in 2003 to await the completion of this work?

It is difficult not to conclude that the City Municipality in effect gave the residents false, or at best, incorrect information; in the process, it rejected their request to obtain the land through its own due process. Yeghyan can only believe that the City Municipality simply wanted to quell the residents' request, and that "...the map drawing was only an excuse so that the residents did not take necessary steps before the auction." As well, at the outset, the City Municipality also failed to inform the residents that the piece of land is deemed state property and, as such, would be zoned for commercial construction use in the completed cadastre map.

The new owner has already begun clearing the parcel: he has demolished a partially constructed dwelling and toilet on the land of one of the residents. For their part, the residents appealed to the Court of First Instance of Kentron and Nork-Marash Communities in order to resolve the issue. This Court of First Instance ruled in favor of the residents and obliged the City Municipality to cancel the auction and sign a contract with the residents. In return, the City Municipality petitioned the Court of Appeals of the Republic of Armenia to reconsider the decision of the Court of First Instance. The Court of Appeals then ruled in favor of Tigran Ltd , allowing it to remain the owner of this parcel. Its reason: that, in support of his request to privatize the land, Yeghyan presented only the declarations of his neighbors that he had been using the land for more than 10 years, which the Court considered insufficient. Now, Yeghyan has filed an appeal in the Court of Cessation against this decision by the Court of Appeals.

Recently, the residents organized a protest rally in their gardens. One resident asks, "We have looked after these trees like they're our children and now they are going to cut them down in front of us?"