Symbolic funeral of Armenian oligarchy held in Yerevan

At the protest action aimed to protect the Mashtots Park in Yerevan, activists held a symbolic funeral ceremony of oligarch Olik Garkhyan.

The funeral ceremony was held in the Mashtots Park on April 22 and involved "the body" – a stuffed puppet of oligarch, a coffin, candles and carnations; there was a funeral procession and crying. According to the script of the action, the widow and brother of Olik Garkhyan were in deep sorrow; they did not know what to do after his death and were highly surprised at the extraordinary joy of the society.

"He will never be able to charity at the expense of his unpaid taxes; he will never be able to build his luxury boutiques in public parks; he will never be able to enjoy his impunity," the "Armenia Today" quotes the protesters.

At 12:30 a.m. the funeral procession was ready in the Mashtots Park. After the memorial service, at 1:00 p.m. the funeral march began. The coffin was solemnly carried across the centre of the capital along Tumanyan Avenue, Mashtots Street and Northern Avenue, where the "late oligarch" said farewell to his house. Then, reaching Republic Square, he said goodbye to the authorities and his unconstitutional past. The event ended at 2:00 p.m. with a solemn burial of Olik Garkhyan, accompanied by dancing, singing and other manifestations of joy by the protesters, the "NovostiNK.ru" reports.

Ecologists have explained that in this way they expressed their protest against oligarchy and all-permissiveness. The ecologists' protest was supported by a number of political, cultural and public figures, the "Tert.am" writes.

The symbolic funeral was another ecologists' protest action against building trade kiosks in the park.