Expert Hovhannisyan: Armenia lives in conditions of disaster

REGION  18 August 2022 - 16:36

"Armenia is in a very dangerous phase of internal instability. Explosions, fires, reports of terrorist attacks, evacuations, collapses, and major accidents are already our daily routine. The daily news is full of public anxiety and terrifying incidents," Vahe Hovhannisyan, a member of the "Alternative Projects" group, notes.

"There are two deep reasons for this. First, we cannot turn over a new page after the war. This is only possible with the formation of a new government and the establishment of a new atmosphere in the country. The second reason is the shamefully low quality of the activity of state institutions, which is approaching the level of internal ungovernability. Besides the fact that the system is filled with ignorant people, the state system and state institutions face only one problem: the preservation of power," he wrote, Caliber.Az reports citing Armenian media.

"This is a very dangerous stage that requires vigilance, endurance, and profound decisions. At the same time, I would like to note the selfless work of the rescue and other special services.

There is another acute problem that carries huge risks. Whether before 2018 or after 2018, the city issued fatal building permits. Buildings are being built without any safety standards. Right now, buildings are being built in Yerevan that could become flashpoints for major disasters tomorrow. Multifamily, high-rise buildings are everywhere. God forbid, if something happens tomorrow, they will only say - why did this happen?

A simple journalistic investigation of the buildings and structures now under construction can expose the risks we face. The tragedy in Surmalu (Surmeli - Ed.) should become an alarm signal and impetus to check and recheck all the buildings and areas of doubtful safety and the need to revise building permits and tighten safety requirements in the operated areas, to find possible solutions. Professionals with relevant knowledge and experience must be mobilized, regardless of their political views and the party hierarchy. Safety must finally become the number one issue on the country's agenda.

We do not notice, we have already adapted, but disaster prevails with us all the time, and it is not normal. This little country is fed up with this chaos and death. As a first step, security - internal and external - must become a total public demand, this demand must be "organized", a political and social movement, a division or other format must be formed to give this demand a meaningful, organizational form, which will bring our country a certain stable level of internal and external security," the Armenian expert writes.

Caliber.Az