The Trchkan Civil Initiative is demanding that RA Chief of Police Vladimir Gasparyan launch an investigation into the ongoing desecration and pilferage of the “Stone Symphony” cliffs in the Garni gorge.

Along the sides of the gorge are cliff walls of well preserved basalt columns, carved out by the Goght River. This portion of the Garni Gorge is typically referred to as the "Symphony of Stones".

Activists say they have been raising the alarm regarding the situation for over one month.

The civic group also calls on the RA Ministry of the Environment to include the natural landmark in its list of “Specially Protected Natural Sites”.

The Garni mayor has assured the activists that he has informed the Kotayk Division of the Armenian Police regarding the vandalism. The mayor says that so far the police have failed to respond.

The accompanying video shows the vandals at work, cutting the stones into manageable pieces for transportation.

One time, the activists caught the vandals in the act. They fled the scene, leaving their cutting tools behind.

Activists argue that if law enforcement doesn’t act soon to put a halt to the pilferage, this site will end up like the Nor Joulfa Armenian cemetery – a pile of rubble.

In the case of the Symphony of Stones, however, the wanton destruction of the public patrimony is being carried out by Armenians.