Noting that the partial demolition of Yerevan’s first printing house by a controlled explosion last Thursday created a wave of public displeasure, Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, called for those who failed to adhere to legal obligations regarding the demolition to be “severely punished” for their actions.

Karapetyan, during a working meeting held today, said that while the Astoria-Invest CJSC, the owners of the site, had received permission from the Yerevan Municipality this year to build a hotel there, as well as permission to demolish the building via controlled explosion, the contractor failed to notify officials in advance as per accepted protocol.

Karapetyan said that the contractor also failed to notify the Ministry of Emergency Situations as to what measures it would take to ensure the safety of residents and others in the area.

The prime minister instructed Armen Yeritsyan, the Minister of Emergency Situations, to hold accountable those officials who failed to demand such documents from the contractor.

The Yerevan Printing House, built in the late 1920s, stretched for almost an entire city block in downtown Yerevan