Armanush Gevorgyan YSU Third-Year Student of Journalism Faculty for EcoLur
“Each time a mayor is changed after my appointment; such a protest demonstration is held aimed at changing the director. The protesters mainly pursue business interests supported by the ext and current employers who deal with the sale of animals.
These people used to exploit the zoo to clean the papers of the animals obtained from the black market,” stated Yerevan Zoo Director Ruben Khachatryan at the press conference held on 19 November speaking about the protest demonstration held near the zoo on 17 November.
Speaking about the interrelationship between Yerevan Zoo and the Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets (FPWC) he heads Ruben Khachatryan noted that since 2011 the Zoo has been donated servicing valuing over 200 million AMD in the forms of goods and money due to the activities of the fund.
The Zoo Director considered all the allegations made at the protest demonstration to be lies. He said he had applied to law enforcement bodies for defaming him. He proposed to wait for the findings of both the law enforcement bodies and the Yerevan Municipality. "if it suddenly turns out I have failed somewhere in my job or did something illegal I am ready to share the responsibility," Ruben Khachatryan said.
November 20, 2018 at 16:04