Yerevan police today detained 16 individuals who had blocked traffic at the intersection of Mashtots Avenue and Tumanyan Street to protest a municipal order to demolish a number of cafes adjacent to the Opera House and turn the area into a park.

The sixteen were given citations and then released. 

Removal of the cafes began yesterday when Yerevan Municipality employees arrived on the scene to haul away the furnishings of the businesses slated for demolition.

Tensions flared when café employees and management protested the municipality’s decision, declaring it unfair.

Demolition was temporarily halted yesterday after municipality officials arrived on the scene to mediate.

In a Facebook post today, Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan writes that the city is “liberating the Opera Square vicinity and returning its cultural atmosphere.”

Marutyan says this is just the beginning of the process and thanks all those Yerevan residents who support the action.