Forced Evictions Continue in Yerevan

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The family of nine persons were forced out of their eight-room property after refusing to accept a $23,000 compensation offered by municipal authorities. Citing "public needs," the authorities have decided to give it to the owner of an adjacent building housing a night club and a department store.

The evicted residents say the proposed compensation is worth a fraction of the market value of their home and insufficient even for buying a tiny apartment on the city outskirts. The authorities counter that the sum is modest partly because some parts of the house were constructed illegally.

This is what is keeping out foreign investment - or at least my foreign investment. Would I ever buy a small apartment or other real estate there knowing that it could be taken away from me illegally? Never.

Source: ArmeniaLiberty