There are some political motives for destructing Armenian district in Tbilisi

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Havlabar is a historical district and needs reconstruction. That is the problem. A major part of historical Tbilisi, including Vake, Saburtalo, Sololaki, has been already reconstructed. Now it's Havlabar's turn," expert at the Caucasus Media Institute, historian and political scientist Sergei Minasyan said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net



"Although some political motives emerge, actually urbanization is taking place. Let's take the construction of the North Avenue in Yerevan, for example. Only fancy the clamor that would rise if Russians lived in those ramshackle houses…" he said.



"As far as I know, Armenians are not kicked out in the street. It's quite another matter that it's a historical district where Armenians used to live for centuries. But these Armenians are poor; their houses too, unlike other districts of Tbilisi. Virtually, Havlabar is the front of Tbilisi. However, it's too unattractive," he said.



As a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter came to know from Havlabar residents, "the government is planning to completely destroy the district and build a modern neighborhood for elite instead. The government warned that Armenians will be paid $906 per m2 and will be replaced to outskirts of the capital."



Meanwhile, an official from Tbilisi city administration told PanARMENIAN.Net that "there are no plans for building an elite neighborhood."

Full text of the interview