David Stepanyan, Yerevan, exclusive to VK
Analyzing the recent actions of the power-holders in Armenia, it seems that, not having the ability and willingness to contribute to the well-being of the population, they have decided to do this by getting rid of some part of it. Back in the early 1990s this line was formulated by the "father of Armenian democracy", Levon Ter-Petrosyan, who said that for a limited resource base the Armenian population of three million is extremely numerous. Now, by this logic, the authorities are creating conditions to enrich themselves by setting intolerable living conditions for the population.
This is done in a simple way: in the first place – by increasing the tax and administrative pressure on the citizens stubbornly unwilling to leave their homeland. Having failed to achieve the 50 per cent increase in fares on public transport, the authorities took up the case with another aspect. The company "City Parking Service" which has recently appeared in Armenia stated that by the end of 2014 in Yerevan 20,000 paid parking places will appear, as well as 5,000 cameras to monitor in these areas, which angered the car owners. It is noteworthy that 70% of the income from parking places will be received by "Parking City Service", and only 30% will go to City Hall. The company was founded in September 2012 specifically to win the tender. However, the name of the founder - Tigran Harutyunyan – explains a lot. He is the son of the owner of the company "MIC-metal" and friend of President Serzh Sargsyan – Michael Harutyunyan. By the way, Michael Harutyunyan is an uncle of another official and billionaire, the head of the Judicial Acts Compulsory Enforcement Service, Mihran Poghosyan.
This raises the question: if City Hall intends to fund its budget with the new levies, then what explains the absurd decision to get only 30% of revenue from parking places? The refusal of City Hall to implement this by itself also looks absurd. Moreover, according to the director of the newly-founded company, ”City Parking Service" intends to invest a total of 10 million dollars in the organization of paid parking places in Yerevan by the end of 2014. Thus, the law "On State Duty" of Armenia does not include a single item that would establish that 70% of the amount in the budget should go to a private company. Article 7 of the Act states that all state tax must go to the district budget. According to tariffs established by the Council of Elders of Yerevan Municipality, which consists mostly of Republicans, parking from 5 minutes to 1 hour will cost 100 AMD, a day - 500 AMD, a week - 1000 AMD, a month - AMD 2000, and a year - 12,000 AMD. Notably, failure to pay for parking will be punishable by a fine of 5,000 drams.
The streets of Yerevan were painted with red lines marking parking areas. The public areas were left to the private company. It was also given a database of car owners, the same company got the right to install traffic cameras and to fine citizens, which is a flagrant violation of the Constitution and human rights. It is noteworthy that only "City Parking Service" can provide answers to questions as to what specifically cameras will shoot, how it is argued that the car owner is in breach, but given that the company is not an organization of public importance, it does not have to provide this information.
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The decision to introduce paid parking has caused a flurry of discontent on the part of citizens. On Facebook an initiative has been created urging the public to boycott the decision of the city authorities, which completely contradicts not only the Code of Administrative Offences, but also the Constitution.
In general, nobody denies that Yerevan needs car parking. However, there is a real need for real car parks, underground or fenced parking places, where the car will be protected. However, as in the rest of the issue, the authorities decided to go off the beaten path, just decorating the kerb of the streets. The vehicle is not protected from raids and accidents, given that it continues to be almost on the roadway.
A few streets in the center of Yerevan which were not noticed by "City Parking Service” are threatened by security cameras and equipped with a road sign "stopping is forbidden". Thus, all car owners parking at the edges and in the squares are punishable by fines of AMD 5000. Drivers will either have to pay illegal levies to the hangers-on to power or pay the same illegal fines to the same hangers-on. Moreover, 70% of fines imposed on drivers in Armenia are flowing into the company Security Dream, owned by the president's brother Sashik Sargsyan.
The story of the car parks has once again demonstrated the desire in influential circles for cash without making any physical or mental effort. However, the authorities still leave a choice - a ticket for a plane, preferably flying far away from Armenia.
