The administration of the Armenian Diaspora in Moldova said they requested the local authorities of Chisinau to lease out to them the land adjoining the Armenian Church situated on Valea Trandafirilor St, but they cannot obtain that land because of the hidden goals pursued by some of the local functionaries. Moreover, they complain they are pressurized into giving up renting that land.

In a news conference at IPN on July 22, the organization’s head Venera Gasparean said that after 2003, when the Armenian Church was returned to them, the Diaspora repaired the building and laid out the territory. They asked then the local authorities to allow them to use the land located near the Church for a period of at least 25 years. They filed multiple applications to the Chisinau City Hall, but nothing was done, despite the promises made by servants.

Venera Gasparean noted that particular functionaries want to make profit by using this land. The situation became tenser when the municipal funeral services company “Combinatul servicii funerare” allowed burying dead people on the territory near the Church. The administration of the Catholic Cemetery situated nearby and the managers of the funeral services company exert pressure on the Diaspora by all kinds of methods, including by administrative proceedings and attempts to use violence.

The organization’s lawyered Alexandr Bodnariuc said the land located near the Church belongs to the local authorities of Chisinau, but when the administration of the funeral services company found out that the Armenian Diaspora intended to use it in exchange for rent allowed burying dead people there, trying to hamper the taking of a decision to lease that land out.

The administration of the Armenian Diaspora in Moldova calls on the senior administration to become involved and take measures for the land situated near the Church to be leased out to the Diaspora.